Bad Bug
by Dida Mac
Summary: Ladybug has been fighting crime alone since she received her Miraculous despite being told that she was supposed to have a partner, the black cat. When tragedy befalls her, she turns to crime to survive and get revenge. When she finally starts making progress, that mangy cat comes out of the woodwork. No Hawkmoth.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've seen many stories which have Chat Noir as a villain and wanted to play around with having an evil Ladybug. In this story, there is no Hawkmoth. Ladybug had been fighting regular crime. The ending of the story as it is currently planned does not have a happy conclusion. Marinette and Adrien are 18 in this story.

Ladybug sat on top of a roof looking out over the city. She felt powerful. She could do anything she wanted. She was far too fast for the cops to catch. She mused about how quickly everything had changed. One moment, she was a superhero. Saving people's cats, catching helicopters with her yoyo, and generally helping people in need. The next her whole world came crashing down and there was no one to help her pick up the pieces. She did often wonder where the partner Tikki had talked about was, but they never did reveal themselves.

And now it was too late. If she'd had a partner, she may have gone down a different path. As it was, she was now the most feared criminal in Paris. Her lucky charms had changed from spoons and marbles to much more dangerous things. She always wondered just why Tikki was enabling her. Perhaps the kwami didn't have a choice but to supply what the raven-haired villain wanted or needed. It didn't matter. What did matter was what Ladybug was going to do right then.

She watched as people scurried to get inside while the evening grew darker. She knew what they were thinking. Without Ladybug on the side of the police, crime had skyrocketed. Muggers, burglars, and rapists all roamed the streets freely. Sure, the cops were able to catch some of them, but Ladybug still had her good luck which meant that now the criminals got to enjoy that luck as well.

As she watched, she saw the man that she was waiting for. With a flick of her wrist, her yoyo wrapped around him and pulled him up toward her. "Quite the night for a stroll." She said to the thrashing man. He was just below her on the yoyo's string keeping him at the edge of the roof.

"L-let me go, please. I don't have any money." He said.

Ladybug laughed. "I don't want your money. Do you remember the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie?" She asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ladybug. Please put me down and we can talk. Please." The man squirmed.

"I think you do remember it." She said.

"So what if I do? They had a lot of customers. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that remembers it. What does it matter?" He said frantically.

"Trust me, it matters."

"The place burned down. I'm sorry. There's nothing that I can do about that." He said.

"You could have." Ladybug responded.

"What? I-I had nothing to do with that." He said, thrashing against the cable surrounding him again.

"Is that so?" Ladybug asked.

"Yes! Please just put me down!" He cried.

"Then how do you explain witnesses placing you at the bakery when the fire started?" She asked.

"I was going to get a croissant!" He said.

"From a closed bakery?" Ladybug said. "Tell me why and I might let you live." She said, letting him fall slightly, just enough to scare him.

"I-I-it wasn't me. I didn't want to! They made me!" He said.

"Who?" Ladybug shouted.

"They'll kill me!" He said.

"I'll kill you." Ladybug responded.

"Why does this matter to you?" He asked.

"You killed three people! Three people who were very close to me!" Ladybug seethed.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. They had my family." He said.

"I don't care if they had the Queen of England. Tell me who they are!" She said.

"It was...it was…" he started. Ladybug let him fall just a little more. "It was the Bourgeois family." He said.

"Why did they want to have the bakery burned to the ground?" Ladybug asked. She was genuinely surprised by the answer. She and Chloe had never been close, but she'd never thought the girl would want her dead.

"I don't know. I think it had to do with money." He said.

"Tell me what you do know or you're going to be eating concrete for dinner." She said.

"They didn't tell me why!" He said.

"I'm losing patience." Ladybug said.

"I don't know. Please, I don't know! Think about my kids. They would've been...they would've been killed if I hadn't." He said.

"Oh, you mean like the Dupain family?" She seethed again.

"Please, Ladybug! I'm sorry!" He squirmed.

"Sorry can't fix this." She said. She then narrowed her eyes. With a flick of her wrist she could retract the yoyo and let him fall to his death. She hesitated as he struggled. She drew in a deep breath and found it was more difficult than she'd thought it would be to end a life. While she had turned to crime, she still hadn't killed anyone. "Get out of Paris before I change my mind." She said. The flick that she gave sent the man hurtling toward the ground while still attached to the yoyo. It stopped just before an impact could take place. With another flick, her yoyo sped back into her waiting hand.

Before the man could even look up, she was gone. She swung through the city, feeling the need for something that she just couldn't put her finger on. As she sailed through the air, her eye caught a jewelry store. A smirk crossed her face. A little bit of excitement couldn't hurt. She needed the distraction anyway. She landed on the roof of the building and made her way to the roof access.

"Locked." She said with a scowl before throwing her yoyo into the air. "Lucky Charm" she shouted. A red knife with black spots dropped into her hand. With a smirk she used the knife to break the locking mechanism and make her way into the store. She knew that she wouldn't have long now. Her transformation would only last for a few minutes. She rushed down the stairs and flicked her yoyo around the showroom. Glass from the display cases flew into the air. She grabbed a trash bag from behind the counter and proceeded to fill it with the most expensive things she could find. She blew a kiss to the camera as her earrings beeped for the first time. She then rushed up the stairs and sailed through the night with the jewelry on her back. Once she got back to the place she now called home, she threw the knife up into the air and shouted Miraculous Ladybug just before her transformation wore off.

A swarm of Ladybugs rushed from the area and fixed the display cases and lock in the jewelry store.

"Marinette, you need to stop. It's been months." Tikki said as Marinette laid down on a makeshift bed.

"What does it matter, Tikki? I'm dead, remember." Marinette glowered.

"You didn't die that night, Marinette. You weren't there. You could come forward and have your life back." Tikki said.

"Yeah, I wasn't there. My parents are dead because I wasn't there. Because I was off protecting some kid from a mugger." Marinette turned away from Tikki. "I can't just go back, Tikki. I'm finally figuring out what happened."

"You were doing your job, Marinette. That kid has a family who loves him. You might have saved his life that night." Tikki responded. Marinette still remembered him, probably no older than she was when she had received the miraculous five years prior. She remembered his dark brown eyes staring at her with gratitude as she turned to help him after tying his attacker up for the police to arrest. He had seemed so innocent. Marinette had walked him to his home before letting her transformation drop in a nearby alley to walk home. She had commiserated with Tikki about how she needed to wake up early for school the next day.

That was until she saw people rushing toward her and heard sirens in the distance. "Tikki, spots on." She said and soon she swung through the air as Ladybug again. Once she reached the scene, though, her stomach plummeted. She saw a few people standing across the street from the fireball that was her home. Quickly, she swung inside in an attempt to save her parents, but she couldn't find them through the inferno and ended up being pulled from the building by Paris's firefighters.

"And where did that get me?" Marinette asked.

"You're alive Marinette. You can make a difference." Tikki responded.

"It won't make a difference. They said the fire started in the oven. That it was just a simple mistake." She said. "It wasn't even investigated and now I know why." She added.

"Marinette, I can't let you do this anymore. You need to stop."

"You don't have a choice, Tikki. I'm the one in charge here. You do as I say." Marinette said threateningly. Tikki's eyes widened. "Now, about that partner you said I was supposed to have...tell me about them." She said.

"I don't know who the holder of the black cat miraculous was going to be. They should have received their miraculous at the same time you did." Tikki said.

"And you said that the miraculouses can be combined?" She asked.

"Y-yes. Whoever uses both miraculouses has the ultimate power. They can make a wish come true. But doing so would have consequences, Marinette." Tikki said.

"But I could have my parents back." Marinette responded.

"Someone else would lose their parents." Tikki responded.

"I don't care. I need to do something. You don't have any clue who the other miraculous user is?" She asked.

Tikki shook her head. "I don't." She said. Marinette huffed.

"Eventually they'll have to come out of the woodwork to face me. For now, I have a mayor to find." Marinette said as she stood.

"I can't transform you yet. I need food." Tikki said. Marinette made her way to her little kitchen and groaned when she saw that there were no more cookies.

"In the purse." She said angrily. She hated going out as herself. While she stayed far away from her old house and school, she was always afraid that someone she knew would recognize her.

She put on a hoodie to cover her face and made her way out into the street, heading for a nearby bakery. She hadn't made it far when she was pulled into an alleyway. "My, my aren't you a catch." a gruff voice said as Marinette was shoved against a brick wall.

Her hand immediately went to her purse, ready to free Tikki and make this man regret ever being born. Then she remembered why she was out in the first place.

"That's a good point. What do you have in there?" He asked as he closed in on her personal space.

"Nothing." She said, staring at the man, memorizing his face so that she could hunt him down later.

"The way you're clutching it says otherwise." He said. "Don't worry, though. You won't care about that when I'm done with you." He added as he leaned in toward her.

She made to push him away, but he caught her wrists. Without the extra strength her transformation gave her, she was unable to get out of his grasp. "Stop" she shouted before she was pulled toward him ever so slightly and then shoved back against the brick wall.

Light flashed in her eyes and she could feel herself growing limp. She tried to fight, but couldn't seem to keep her eyes open. She saw a flash of metal before everything went dark.

"Marinette?" A familiar voice called to her from the darkness. She groaned, trying to will herself to turn away from the sound. It felt like a fog horn had just been blasted in her ear. "Marinette, wake up." The voice came again. It then seemed to pull away from her. "What do I do? What can I do? I should take her to the hospital. No, they'll ask too many questions. Then again she needs help…" the voice continued to argue with itself as one of Marinette's blue eyes cracked open ever so slightly. She groaned when she saw a bright light shining at her.

Had she been drugged and kidnapped? She couldn't remember anything from the time she'd left the apartment to now. She quickly clamped her eyes shut again.

"Marinette?" The voice suddenly rang out. Suddenly there were hands on her shoulders and she could feel that the individual was invading her space. The memory came back to her quickly and she tried to strike the person who was speaking to her. "Stop. Marinette, you're safe." The voice came again.

She cracked one of her eyes open again to see that the person was standing in front of the offending light. He was blond with bright green eyes and was wearing a cat-themed leather costume complete with a mask and cat ears. "What the…" she started.

"You might have a concussion. He hit you pretty hard." The man said.

"How…" she started.

"I was...out…and I saw him attacking you. I didn't realize who you were until I got you up here. I thought you were dead." He said. Without warning, he closed his arms around her. Marinette panicked and started thrashing to try to get away from him.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"I'm A...a...a superhero named Chat Noir." He said.

"Chat...Noir...the black cat." Marinette muttered. There were alarm bells going off in her head to try to remind her of something, but she just couldn't make sense of it.

"Do I know you?" She asked, puzzled.

"No...but I know about you. You are thought to have died months ago." He said.

"The fire…" she muttered. "I should have died in the fire." She said.

"No, you shouldn't have. Marinette, where have you been?" He asked.

"Hiding. Trying to find who set fire to the bakery." She said.

"But it was an accident." He responded. Marinette shook her head. She instantly wished that she hadn't as pain shot through her body.

"That's what the police reported. Witnesses said otherwise." She said. "Black cat superhero." She muttered under her breath, trying to think about what significance it had, but her brain was so fuzzy that it wouldn't work.

"I need to take you to a hospital. Okay?" He asked.

"No" Marinette said sternly.

"You might have a concussion." He insisted.

"I said no." She responded.

"Where can I take you, then?" He asked. Reluctantly, she gave him the address of her apartment. He nodded and gently scooped her up. He jumped from roof to roof occasionally perching on some contraption he was carrying before he landed in front of her building. "What apartment?" He asked.

"B12" she muttered and found him carrying her to her apartment.

"What were you doing out so late?" He asked gently as he climbed the stairs with her still in his arms.

"I was trying to get cookies so that I could see the mayor." She said.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital?" He asked. Marinette nodded. "Well, I'm not leaving you alone. Do you have anyone who can come over? Any friends or family who know you're still alive?" He asked as he entered her apartment and laid her down on the couch.

"No" was the simple answer Marinette released. She didn't pay attention to the distressed look that crossed his face. She focused instead on the light above his head. "Why do you care?" She suddenly asked.

"You're a good person. Your friends are good people. They all think you're dead." He said. It sounded like he was pleading with her. "Someone should know you're alive." He said.

Marinette shook her head. "No" she said.

"What about Alya." He pushed.

"I said no! Who are you, anyway?" She asked. Her mind was starting to get clearer. Some things were still fuzzy, but she was starting to realize that he was her missing partner. "The black cat...the black cat miraculous…" she muttered.

"I'm just...yes, I'm Chat Noir." He said.

"How do you know me?" She asked.

"I just...I can't. You can't know anything about me." He responded.

"You know an awful lot about me." She said warily.

"Well, consider me a friend. After all, I guess I'm going to spend my first patrol here making sure you're safe, princess." He said. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna go to bed." She said, trying to stand up.

"No you're not." Chat replied.

"Wanna bet?" Marinette responded.

"If you do have a concussion and you go to sleep you might not wake up." He responded as Marinette managed to get herself into a sitting position.

"It'd be a mercy." She responded. This time she saw the hurt look that crossed his face. "Don't take it purrsonally, kitty. I just don't have much going for me these days." She said before pushing off of the couch and stumbling across the room with him following her haphazardly.

"You really shouldn't be doing this." He said.

Marinette just shook her head as she tossed her purse (sorry Tikki) and her hoodie across the room onto the dresser and then made to pull her shirt off. She stopped when two gloved hands barred her from pulling the shirt any further up her abdomen just before the point where her bra would be visible.

"Stop. Y-you need to stop." He said.

"Just turn around if you're that shy." She said. His hands didn't move. "How do you expect me to get ready for bed?" She asked.

"If you don't stop this, I'm going to have to call an ambulance and I'm going to have to tell them who you are." He said.

"They won't believe you. Not when my ID says Vera Cheng." She said simply.

"Vera Cheng?" He asked.

"Second cousin. Looks a lot like me, don't you think?" Marinette asked, producing the ID. Other than a few key differences, Vera and Marinette looked like twins.

"Wow…" he said. "But still, this is your safety." He said.

Marinette laughed. "The safety of a dead person. Funny." She said before giving up on changing and just pulling away from him to flop down on her bed. She didn't hear what he said next. When she opened her eyes again, sunlight was peeking through the window and Chat was asleep in a chair beside it.

The events of the night before came crashing down on her like a wave in the ocean. She was attacked. She was saved. She was saved by Chat Noir, the very miraculous user that she needed. "Marinette no" she heard Tikki squeak as she started to get up to cross the room. The noise roused the sleeping blonde.

"I see that Sleeping Beauty has woken up. So sad that I won't have to give you that kiss. I was about this close." He said, holding up his forefinger and thumb so that they were almost touching. His face then turned serious and he quickly approached her, looking back and forth at her eyes. "Doesn't look like there's any damage. Looks like you're purrfect, princess." He said as he snagged her hand and gently kissed her fingertips. "Until next time." He said, suddenly jumping to her window. He paused on the sill of the open window. "Marinette?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Chat?" She asked, finding her voice.

"I'm happy you're not dead." He said before leaping from the window. Marinette just watched as he left before Tikki zipped out of her purse.

"Marinette! I was so worried! I couldn't get out at all last night because he stayed for so long." Tikki said as she hugged her charge.

"The black cat...I know him, Tikki. He knows me as Marinette. How do I know him?" She asked.

"It isn't important. What is important is that you work with him to expose the mayor." Tikki said.

"That won't bring my parents back." Marinette said with a determined look on her face. Tikki's eyes widened as the reality of what Marinette was thinking dawned on her. "I'm going to plan." She said as she stood from the bed.

A/N: Let me know what you think. Updates will probably be slow going due to school.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette paced. There were a lot of things she didn't know. She didn't know when Chat Noir would come back out for another patrol. She didn't know if she would see him again. She didn't know if she would be able to get his ring without a fight.

"Just stop, Marinette. You can get proof that Mr. Bourgeois is the one that had the bakery burned down and then you can expose him." Tikki said.

"If I get his miraculous, then I get a wish." She said.

"Marinette, you can't do that. You'd be taking away someone else's parents." Tikki said.

"Maybe it would be Chloe's parents." Marinette said. Mr and Mrs Bourgeois were one of Paris's most famous power couples. They were almost never seen without each other and Mrs Bourgeois had taken on many projects over the course of her husband's terms as mayor.

"Marinette! You would take away someone's parents? Just to get your own back?" Tikki asked appalled. Marinette just glared at Tikki.

"You're right. With my luck it would be Alya's parents...or Adrien's." She said. For a moment, her resolve waivered. She couldn't imagine hurting her friends in that way.

"Even if it wasn't, would you really take someone else's parents away from them?" Tikki asked.

Marinette sighed. "You're right, Tikki." She said. "I wouldn't want anyone to go through this." She added. She turned toward the kwami. "I won't be able to get near to the mayor until tonight. During the day he's going to be protected." She said.

"That's true." Tikki said.

"But there is someone that I could get close to." She said. She could tell that Tikki didn't like where this was going. "Chloe."

Before Tikki could protest, Marinette transformed and was swinging through the streets toward her old school. Once she was there, Ladybug peered as inconspicuously as she could through the window. All of her classmates were listening to a lecture from Mme Bustier. Ladybug briefly looked longingly toward her old seat and her best friend who didn't look to be paying too much attention to the lesson. A brief look at the other students showed that not many were.

A gloom seemed to hang over the room. Except for Adrien. He seemed happy. Truly nothing could turn his smile into a frown it seemed. Ladybug was left wondering what was affecting the class so much. The only thing that she could think was that Chloe had gotten everyone into trouble again. Yet even the blonde didn't seem happy.

Ladybug shook her head. She didn't have time to think about what her classmates were going through. Class would break for lunch soon. As Chloe was leaving the school, Ladybug would make her move. She couldn't help herself as her eyes flicked over the class again. The only blond haired boy was...Adrien. Ladybug shook her head again as she moved away from the window. Adrien couldn't possibly be Chat Noir. No, he must have known her from somewhere else.

"What's up with you, dude?" She heard Nino after a short while, signaling that the class had been released for lunch. "You seem different...happy even." He added.

"I don't know, Nino. I just feel better today. No real reason." The blond said before the two were out of earshot. Then Ladybug saw her target. She swung her yoyo and it encircled the blond girl and yanked her away from her redheaded friend causing a scream to pierce the courtyard.

"Let go let go let go. My father will…" Chloe started, but Ladybug cut her off.

"Oh? What will your father do? He's been trying to catch me for months and hasn't been able to. What makes you think he would suddenly succeed now?" Ladybug said to the dangling girl as she hauled her onto the roof of the school. "Speaking of your father, though, how is he connected to that." Ladybug asked, pointing toward the rubble that used to be her home.

Chloe stared at where Ladybug was pointing with wide eyes. The blond was standing, but still wrapped in the yoyo's string. "T-that's Marinette's home. It...daddy didn't do anything to it. It burned down." She said.

"How did it burn down?" Ladybug asked.

"A fire from the oven." Chloe said simply.

"You and I both know that's not true. How is your father connected to that bakery?" Ladybug snarled.

"He was just the landlord. Nothing more." Chloe said.

"I don't believe you." Ladybug said.

"He was upset that rent hadn't been paid, but that was it. He had nothing to do with the fire." Chloe said.

"So, the rent wasn't paid. And your father thought that warranted the deaths of three people?" Ladybug asked.

"No, that's not true at all. It was an accident." Chloe said.

"Your father accidentally hired someone to burn the bakery to the ground?" Ladybug asked cynically.

"Why would my daddy hire any…" Chloe started.

"Ladybug! Let her go." A voice ran out from behind the spotted villain.

Ladybug turned slightly to see Chat Noir standing at the edge of the rooftop, holding his staff ready for a battle. Ladybug was about to snap at him when she realized that she needed to tread carefully. She didn't want Chat Noir figuring out her secret identity. "And what are you supposed to be?" She asked.

"I'm Chat Noir. Now let her go." He said. Ladybug could see that he was slightly shaking.

Ladybug couldn't help herself. She hadn't said anything to him the previous night because she was too dazed, but now as she stared at him she was filled with rage. "Where the hell were you?! Why did you just come out of the woodwork now?" She shouted. She loosened her grip on the yoyo allowing it to untangle itself from Chloe as she turned to fully face Chat.

"I…" he started.

"Do you know how many times I could have used a partner? Some help? Someone to talk to?!" She demanded as she started toward him, Chloe long forgotten.

"I couldn't." He said.

"Oh, you couldn't? For years you were holding onto a Miraculous and you couldn't do anything?" She shouted.

"Ladybug. I...look, I can't change the past, but I'm here now." Chat said. He didn't notice, but Ladybug's eyes flicked to his hand, taking in his ring. "I wanted to help you. I really did."

Ladybug's gaze turned to ice as she moved her stare back to his face. "If you wanted to, you would have." She said.

"It's not that simple, Ladybug." Chat said.

"Then simplify it." She said as she moved closer to him, holding her yoyo at the ready.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ladybug." Chat replied, standing his ground. His eyes then widened as something hit Ladybug from behind. The spotted former heroine turned to see a wide-eyed Chloe Bourgeois, hand still extended. Ladybug's eyes narrowed on the blond and she was about to fling her yoyo at the girl when a flash of black whisked the girl away. Ladybug realized almost instantly what had happened. Chat had saved the girl.

Ladybug heard police sirens getting closer. She knew that she wouldn't be able to interrogate Chloe anymore and it didn't seem like she knew anything anyway. Ladybug swung away from the area quickly. She had hoped that Chloe would know more, but now realized that it was a long shot to begin with. She made her way back to her apartment and settled down before releasing her transformation.

"You should go easier on Chat Noir, Marinette. We don't know what he may have been going through. You can't blame him for not being there without knowing what he was going through." Tikki chided.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at the kwami. "He left me to deal with everything. For years." She said.

"You still don't know what could have kept him from that. He said that he couldn't help. Maybe something was preventing him?" Tikki suggested.

"Like what? Parents kidnapped a kwami?" Marinette asked, rolling her eyes.

"Marinette, you need to let go of your anger at the past and move forward." Tikki said. Marinette shook her head.

"You don't understand, Tikki." Marinette said angrily. She realized that she made a mistake when she looked at the kwami.

"I've lost countless Ladybugs throughout the years. Ladybugs that I loved as much as I love you, Marinette. Don't ever think that you're the only one who has experienced grief." the kwami said in a dangerous, calm voice.

Marinette sat speechless, staring at the kwami for a moment before moving her gaze to the ground and clenching her fist. "I'm sorry, Tikki." She said quietly.

"Don't be sorry, Marinette. Just do better. Quit stealing and terrorizing people. Go back to fighting crime instead of committing it." Tikki argued.

"Not until I'm done." Marinette said.

"And what will you do when you get to the Mayor?" Tikki asked. "What will any of this do?"

"I don't know" Marinette said quietly. "I just can't stop. I can't let them just be...gone." She said.

"They are gone, Marinette. And they wouldn't want you to keep doing this to yourself." Tikki said.

"We don't know what they would have wanted." Marinette said.

"They loved you, Marinette. I know they wouldn't want you to go down this road." Tikki said.

"I can't just go back to catching criminals, Tikki. I'm wanted now." Marinette stated.

"Ladybug is wanted. Marinette isn't. And even with that, I'm sure that you could make reparations if you tried." Tikki said. Marinette shook her head and laid down on the bed.

"Do I really want to make reparations to the city that allowed my parents' murderer to run free?" Marinette asked before rolling onto her side and curling into a ball. She didn't wait for Tikki to respond. "I'm going to the mayor tonight. I'm getting answers." She said.

"Marinette, don't you think security will be looking for you? Everyone saw you snatch Chloe and as far as they know the only reason she got away was that Chat Noir took her away from you." Tikki said. Marinette groaned. She knew Tikki was right.

"Then what would you suggest I do?" She asked, frustrated.

"Maybe just lay low for a few days." Tikki said. Marinette groaned again and then glanced at her closet where she'd stashed the jewelry she stole the night before. "You and I both know that you would need to travel quite a ways in order to get rid of that. Just rest for a little while, Marinette." Tikki responded as if she'd read Marinette's mind.

Marinette sighed in defeat. "Fine" she said. She laid silently for a few minutes until she fell into a restless sleep. The sleep didn't last long before she was awoken to a tapping on her window. Marinette looked over to see the leather-clad hero perched just outside with his head tilted and a smile adorning his face.

Marinette narrowed her eyes as she got out of bed and made her way to the window. She opened it quickly and glared at the oblivious hero. "Marinette, you don't know how happy I am to see you." He said. It was then that Marinette noticed that one of his hands was hidden behind his back. "The cookies that you requested last night." He said, his grin widening as he pulled a lightly colored box from behind his back. Through a cellophane window on the box, Marinette could see expertly-crafted macarons.

"T-thank you?" Marinette said, her memory of the request was hazy and she was caught so off guard that she didn't react as he slipped into the room.

"I thought you'd like them. They're your favorite, right?" Chat asked as he set the box down on her dresser.

"I...what are you doing here?" Marinette asked, confused.

"I wanted to check on you." Chat said simply as he looked around the room. "You know, your classmates could help you get into a better apartment. You might even be able to just stay with one of them. Isn't one of them famous or something? Probably has a mansion…"

"I'm fine where I am." Marinette said sourly.

"You deserve more than this, Marinette." The boy said as he turned to her.

"Oh?" She asked.

"Yes. Just...just come with me and tell someone that you're alive." Chat said.

"You know that I can't. I'm looking for the person that had my parents killed." Marinette responded.

"About that…" Chat trailed off for a moment. "Apparently Ladybug is looking into that, too. You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?" He asked. Marinette shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant to keep him from being suspicious of her.

"Maybe she liked the croissants?" She suggested dryly.

"I didn't think you'd know. But really, be careful Marinette. Ladybug...she's different now. If she finds out you're alive I don't know what she'd do." He said.

"Ladybug wouldn't hurt me, Chat." Marinette said.

"I didn't think she'd be dangling people from the edges of buildings or attempting to kidnap the mayor's daughter either. But like I said, she's changed. Just be careful." He said. Marinette could see the genuine concern in his gaze.

"I, uh, I will." She said. Chat nodded with a smile.

"Good." He said, glancing around briefly. "I guess I should go, huh? Let you get back to sleep." He said.

"Chat, wait" Marinette said as he made his way toward the window.

"Yes Marinette?" He asked turning back to her.

"Why are you here now?" She asked.

"I told you, I wanted to check on you" he responded.

"No, I mean in general. Why did you get all suited up and become a hero?" She asked. Chat hung his head in a way that made her stomach churn.

"Because it's my fault that Ladybug is the way she is. I let her down." He said.

"How?" Marinette asked even though she agreed with him. She wanted to hear his side of the story.

"The first time the world saw Ladybug was the same night I got my ring. My ring is what gives me my powers. But I was at a dinner with my parents. Someone came in to shoot up the place where we were eating and I was about to transform when she swooped in and saved the day. She was so amazing. Beautiful, confident, strong…There was no way I could ever live up to her standards. She was just so wonderful at everything.

"I...I fell in love with her. Every night, I would try to convince myself that would be the night. I would transform and find her, help her. But every night I would remind myself of how inadequate I was. There was no way that I could live up to her expectations of a hero. So, I didn't transform.

"I wouldn't have ever transformed, but then I saw the news of her robbing a bank. I couldn't bring myself to track her down and be her enemy. So, I still didn't transform. But then I saw the news that she started dangling citizens from rooftops and...I couldn't stand by any longer." He said, his fists clenching. "I had to do something."

Marinette nodded. "You...you loved her? That's why you stayed away?" She asked. She didn't know whether to be angry or touched. "I'm sure she would have wanted the help, though." She said.

Chat nodded. "I know. I just didn't want to disappoint her. She was just so amazing." He said.

"Sounds almost like how I feel about the guy I liked." Marinette mused before shaking her head. "But you could have at least been there for her for emotional support." She said.

"I know. I messed everything up. I wish I could go back in time and fix it." He said with a sigh before burying his head in his hands. The ring caught Marinette's eye as Chat talked about wishes. She thought about the wish she would make and about how close she was to being able to have it actually come true. All she would need to do would be to take his Miraculous. "Anyway, are you sure you don't want anyone to know about you. A lot of people miss you." He said.

Marinette thought for a moment. She shook her head, both to his question and to her want. "No. It's better this way." She said.

"It's paw-sible that you're wrong." He said with a smirk. Marinette found herself glaring at him for the pun. "Don't give me that look. You started this Purr-incess." He said. Marinette suddenly realized the pun she'd said the night before.

"I had a head injury. What's your excuse?" She demanded, unable to hide a smile that crept into her face.

"I'm purr-fectly fine." Chat responded, his smile growing wider. "But I do have to go, Princess. Until next time." He said before diving through the window.

A/N: I know it's short and you've waited for so long, but I figured it would be best to get something out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review with what you think I could improve on.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette stayed in the next day at Tikki's request. The small kwami had convinced her that she needed to lay low for a while after her talk with Chloe. Marinette was impatient, but ultimately listened to her friend. They had agreed that Ladybug would stay away from the mayor for another month despite Marinette wanting to rush in. Instead, Marinette started to try to come up with a plan. She wished that she could look into her family's finances, but it wasn't like she could show up at the bank and demand statements. Even with using her fake ID she would need to prove that she was the beneficiary to the accounts.

No, she certainly couldn't do that. The only way she could get access is if she went as herself and that was out of the question. The only lead she had was the mayor. As she was pacing in her room, she heard a tapping on her window. She looked up at the window annoyed to see the blonde again for the third night in a row.

"Why do you keep coming here?" She asked as she opened the window. "And don't bother asking me to tell someone I'm alive." She snapped before he spoke.

"I figured that you might want a sandwich?" He asked, holding up a paper bag.

"Why?" She asked as Chat made his way into her room.

"Well, I can't imagine you have too much in the way of money right now and it's the least I could do for a friend." He said.

"Oh, we're friends, huh?" She asked with her arms crossed.

"Well, I considered you a friend before...everything happened." He said.

"Chat, I don't even know who you are. For all I know, you're someone who frequented the bakery." She said. "I'd think that I would recognize you if we knew each other well enough to be friends." She added, instantly regretting it. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"It's the mask. Well, the entire suit really. It's made of magic. You can't recognize me because the magic keeps you from remembering." He said. Marinette tilted her head, wondering why Tikki never told her that. "I'd have to transform in front of you for you to put two and two together." He said. Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Which I can't do because...I just can't." He finished awkwardly.

Marinette sighed. "Okay, Kitty, give me a sandwich." She said. A brilliant smile filled Chat's face as he sat down on her floor and fished two sandwiches out of the bag. Marinette sat down and took a bit of the sandwich that he offered. "Where did you get this? It's delicious." She said through a mouthful of food.

"A cat's gotta have secrets, Princess." He said with a chuckle as Marinette took another bite. Within minutes, Marinette was done with her sandwich. She found herself wanting more.

"Seriously, where did you get it?" She asked, looking over the plain brown wrapping the sandwich had come in for a logo. There was nothing printed on it, though.

"Would you believe me if I said I made it myself?" He asked with a smile. Marinette raised an eyebrow. "No, you're right. I didn't." He added with a chuckle. "But I do see that you liked it."

Marinette nodded vigorously. She hadn't eaten very well since before the fire. She was sure that it showed. It wasn't that she didn't have money to get food. She was just preoccupied. "It was very good." She said. Chat nodded and stood.

"Thank you for having dinner with me, Princess." He said, making his way to her window. He was gone before she stood. Marinette wandered to the window after him. She waited a moment, staring out at the city.

"Tikki, just because I can't go to the mayor doesn't mean I can't go out." She mused to the kwami.

"Of course you can." The flying creature said, having come out of hiding.

Within moments, Ladybug was swinging through the air. She had no specific destination in mind. No one to intimidate, nothing to steal, and no responsibilities. She made her way to the Eiffel Tower and stood on one of the beams, looking out at the city. Then her eyes strayed to the mayor's hotel. She gripped her yoyo, trying to will herself

to stay where she was. She knew the risks of going to the mayor right then. She would be captured. There was no way out of that.

She lifted her arm, compelled to go against logic momentarily before she narrowed her eyes and dropped her hand back to her side. She sat down on the metal beam and closed her eyes, concentrating on the wind. She focused on the feeling that it made as it moved her hair and the sound that it made as it rushed past. She didn't notice the light thump of feet landing on the beam opposite hers nor the green eyes that were staring at her back. The two of them stayed there in silence. Ladybug meditating as best she could and Chat Noir trying to work himself up to go up to her and at the very least talk.

After a while, Ladybug opened her eyes again and stared out at the city. She sat for what felt like hours and just looked at the twinkling lights in the distance. To her surprise, after a while of this, a black figure, in one fluid motion hopped onto the beam that she was sitting on and sat next to her. Ladybug's eyes were wide as she turned and stared at Chat. His eyes were calm compared to hers which did little to hide her shock and panic. She was on edge, thinking that he was going to attack her at any moment and take her in to the police. However, he didn't. He just sat and returned the stare in silence.

She wondered if he knew she was Marinette, if he had seen her transform after he left. She was too panicked to say a word and yet not panicked enough to fight or run. Instead she turned and looked back out at the city, her eyes still wide. She could see him turn as well and they sat in silence.

"Why are you investigating the bakery fire?" He asked quietly. It was so quiet that Ladybug almost didn't hear it.

"I have reasons." She responded. "Why do you care?" She asked.

"Mari...I am...was…" he stopped before taking another approach. "You tried to kidnap the mayor's daughter." He said after a moment.

"Trying to keep Chloe Bourgeois safe, huh? That'll be quite the task." Ladybug stated.

"Is that a threat?" He asked, his head snapping to look at her. Ladybug looked back at him.

"No. Not a threat. She just seems to have a bad habit of making enemies and Paris isn't as safe as it used to be." She said. "So, you're here to protect Chloe, though?" She asked.

"I'm here to protect Paris." He said.

"Would've been nice for you to have been here over the past five years." She responded.

Chat was quiet for a moment. "You didn't answer my question." He said. "Why are you investigating it?" He asked.

"Because I am." Ladybug responded. Chat was silent for a moment giving Ladybug an opportunity to speak, but she didn't take it.

"Is it why you became a villain?" He asked.

Ladybug's stare didn't waiver. She also didn't make any attempt to answer the question.

"You started committing crime about two weeks after the fire. And now you're investigating it. Have you been investigating it all along?" Chat asked. Ladybug looked away.

"I became a villain because I'm done with giving everything to this city and getting nothing in return." She said after a short silence.

"Then why investigate the Dupain bakery?" Chat asked insistently.

"You're quite the curious cat." Ladybug stated.

"Why won't you answer me?" He asked.

"Because I don't have to. I find it interesting, though that you somehow know both when the fire was and when I stopped being a hero." She said, her eyes narrowing to a glare.

"They were both fairly big events." He stated. Ladybug looked away from him.

"I was there that night. I'd saved a kid from a mugger and was passing the area when I saw the fire. I tried to help, but couldn't." She said simply.

"It wasn't your fault." Chat said. Ladybug saw his hand move out of the corner of her eye. He hesitated, his hand above hers for a moment before he pulled it away from her.

"I know, but those who are at fault aren't being held accountable." She said.

"And that's why you're investigating it?" He asked. "Seems like you're still giving the city everything and getting nothing in return." He said. Ladybug shook her head and looked at him again.

"That's not the case at all. I'm not giving anything to the city. I'm giving everything to the three people who died that night. No one else is getting anything from me." She said. Chat opened his mouth to argue, but quickly snapped it shut.

"So, you think Chloe knew something about it?" He asked.

"Her parents were the landlords. My sources indicated that they were responsible. They hired someone to start the fire. I just don't know why." She said.

"So, what are you planning?" He asked. Ladybug looked away from him.

"I'm not going to tell you that, Chat." She responded.

"You should stop. It's not going to help anyone for you to do this." He said. Ladybug set her jaw as she stared out at the city, her blood starting to boil.

"You won't stop me. I have to do this." She responded.

"No, you don't. All this is doing is hurting you and." He stopped abruptly mid sentence.

"You want them to get away with it?" She demanded through clenched teeth.

"No. But I can't let you threaten and hurt people." He said.

"Then I guess you'll just have to crawl back to where you've been cowering for the last 5 years because I'm not going to stop and you're not going to stop me." She said before she stood and quickly threw her yoyo. She didn't want to hear his response. She didn't want him to keep acting like he knew about her and her family.

She landed on a rooftop near the Louvre and called for her Lucky Charm. She didn't know what she wanted to do or even what she expected, but a card fell into her hands. Ladybug turned it over, looking at the familiar pink heart. She was confused about the card as she opened it to see the poem she'd sent to Adrien years ago.

"Ha ha, very funny, Tikki." She said as she ripped the card in half and tossed it aside. She looked at the people walking on the street. Most were tourists and either didn't know about the high crime rate or didn't care. She sneered as she watched them. They were all blissfully unaware of what was going on.

She wanted to hurt them. She couldn't use her lucky charm again and she knew that she only had five minutes. She did the only thing she could think of at the moment. She swang near to a small group and grabbed the closest person. He screamed as she hauled him, over her shoulder, to the top of the museum.

"L-Ladybug!" He said as she came to a stop. She turned and finally took a look at him. Her eyes widened momentarily as she recognized fiery red hair. Her eyes then settled into a glare. Of all of the people she could kidnap, it had to be Nathanaël. "What do you want? I don't...have any money or anything." He said.

"I don't want your money." She said as her earrings started to beep.

"Then what do you want?" He asked with wide eyes.

"I want people to suffer." She said without thinking.

"Too late." He muttered and then his eyes widened in fear as he stared at her and lifted his hands, starting to back away. "I didn't…" He trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Ladybug asked as her earrings beeped again.

"I didn't mean to say anything. I'm sorry, Ladybug."

"No, what did you mean?" She asked.

"I just...a classmate that I really liked passed away. It was months ago, almost a year really." He said. Ladybug furrowed her brow. She could tell he was talking about her. "I've just been...kinda miserable since." He said before the earrings beeped again.

"I...I've got to go. I'm...I'm sorry about your friend." She said before swinging away from the roof where she left a stunned Nathanaël. As she sailed through the still open window of her apartment, she silently berated herself for managing to grab Nathanaël. Why couldn't it have been someone else? Anyone else? Why was he even out after dark?

"You left Nathanaël on top of the Louvre!" Tikki said angrily as she came out of Marinette's earrings.

"I could have thrown him off the edge." Marinette said casually with a shrug even though she'd known as soon as she'd heard his voice that she wouldn't be hurting him. Of all of the people in Paris, her classmates were the only ones that she would give immunity to. They were the people she'd grown up with and they were the closest thing to family that she still had.

"Marinette!" Tikki chided.

"I'm kidding, Tikki." She said.

"You were meaning to hurt him when you picked him up." Tikki responded.

"So?" Marinette asked.

"So, you can't go around hurting people! You're Ladybug! You're supposed to be a hero!" Tikki responded. Marinette's eyes narrowed into a glare.

"I'm no hero, Tikki." She responded.

"You should be, Marinette. It's what you're supposed to do!" Tikki said.

"I don't care. I lost everything, Tikki. Paris doesn't come first anymore." Marinette responded. She then shook her head. "I'm going to bed. Tomorrow we're going to take those jewels out of the city and pawn them off." She said. "So, eat up and get some rest."

A/N: Sorry it's short. Just wanted to get something out.


	4. Chapter 4

The next evening, Marinette arrived at her apartment with a stack of money from the jewelry she'd pawned. Tikki was exhausted when she came out of Marinette's earrings. The kwami was even too tired to eat. Marinette took her over to the bed and laid her down, trying to make the being comfortable as she fell asleep. Marinette sighed as she looked at her friend's sleeping form. There was no way that she would be able to transform again until the next day at the earliest.

Marinette had to commend Tikki for how long she'd held the transformation. While the raven-haired woman hadn't specifically tested how long she could remain transformed in the past, she assumed that it did take a toll on the kwami. Marinette made sure that a blanket was covering Tikki before changing into her own pajamas. She was about to get into her bed when she heard a familiar tapping.

Her face turned into a scowl. He was the last person she wanted to see after the previous night. Still, she didn't want him to suspect that she was Ladybug. She didn't know how he would react if he figured it out and didn't want to find out either. So, she placed a light blanket over Tikki so that the sleeping kwami couldn't be spotted. She then went to the window, forcing her face to remain neutral as she answered.

"I was starting to think you'd let a purr-fectly fine quiche go to waste." He said, holding up another plain brown bag. Marinette raised an eyebrow at the leather-clad hero.

"Chat, why do you keep coming here?" She asked plainly, trying not to sound irritated.

"Not a quiche fan, huh? I'll remember that tomorrow." He said with a smirk and a tilt of his head.

"It's not...I just…I don't think you should keep coming here." She said.

"How else will I make sure that my favorite princess is safe?" He asked.

"Chat, I'm being serious." She said.

"As am I. Look, the truth is that ever since I saw Ladybug interrogating Chloe about your parent's house...I want to make sure she doesn't hurt you." He said, his smile replaced with a look of determination. After a moment of silence between the two of them, his brilliant smile returned and he cocked his head again. "So, are you going to let a harmless kitten in or just keep him out in the cold?" He asked.

Marinette sighed and stepped away from the window. "I don't need you to protect me." Marinette said simply.

"If I'd been around before...things might have been different." He said, his shoulders slumping. Marinette sighed.

"Get in here." She said after a moment. Chat straightened and hopped into her room, full of energy again. "You really don't have to keep bringing me food, though. And I can take care of myself." She said.

"Of course, Princess. But you know how cats are once they've adopted an owner." He added. After a moment his cheeks adopted a rosy color and he cleared his throat. "Not that you're my...I didn't mean...I was just…"

"Calm down, Chat. I know it was just a joke." Marinette said with a giggle. "You're such a goofy kitty." She said before ruffling his hair and turning, walking out of the bedroom. The only other room in the small apartment was a mixture of a living room and kitchen. It had a small couch that had been there when Marinette moved in. She sat down on the well-used piece of furniture and looked over at the door to her room where Chat still stood. "Waiting for an invitation?" She asked.

Chat suddenly rushed into the room and to the couch where he awkwardly sat next to her. "So, quiche?" He asked, holding out the bag.

Marinette smiled. "Fine, I'll try it." She said as he opened the bag and offered it to her. Just like with the other food he's brought her, it tasted amazing. "Where do you keep getting these things?" She asked.

"I'll tell you what, I'll let you know if you tell one of your classmates you're alive." He said with a smirk.

Marinette's expression instantly turned into a glare. "Chat, I can't do that." She said. "Even if I wanted to, it's a safety issue. The person who had my parents killed is still out there and who knows if they would go after me?" She said.

"So, why were you wanting to see the mayor when I found you?" He said suddenly.

Marinette was about to say what she knew, but held back. She didn't want anything to connect her with Ladybug, not even the suspicion that the mayor had her parents killed. "If there's anyone in the city who could convince the police to investigate the fire further, it would be Mayor Bourgeois." She said. "I figured I could go to him for help." She said.

"And how did the cookies play into it?" He asked as he took a bite of his pastry.

"I wasn't exactly thinking straight." Marinette responded.

"Well, you shouldn't go to see the mayor." He said.

"Why not?" Marinette asked, truly interested in what he would say.

"Ladybug thinks he might be behind the fire." He responded simply. "Better to be safe than sorry." He added. Marinette nodded. She didn't know whether she should be surprised that he would be cautious with her or not.

"Do you really think Chloe's dad would do something like that?" She asked.

Chat looked away from her and fidgeted while he thought of an answer. "The other day, Ladybug attacked Chloe. She was looking for information. She is sure that the Bourgeois are responsible for the fire because they were the landlords." He said reluctantly. "I don't think it's likely, but we can't be too careful." He said.

"We?" Marinette asked.

"I'm going to help you, Princess. It's what a hero would do." He said.

"Chat, I don't need help." She said.

"It couldn't exactly hurt to have me on your side." He said with a brilliant smile.

"No offense Chat, but I don't know you that well." She said.

"Nonsense, you've known me for years. I've been right in front of you the whole time." He said, raising a hand and patting her on the shoulder.

"I don't even know what you can do." She said. She was hoping he would give her a demonstration so that she would know what she was up against for when he and Ladybug eventually fight. She knew it was only a matter of time.

"I, uh, well I can't show you here." He said. "I mean, I would love to show you, but not here...not where you live." He said, looking around the room.

"Oh, come on. Ladybug's special thing isn't that bad. Yours can't be either." She said, waving a hand dismissively.

"Princess, I...not here. Maybe we could go somewhere else?" He asked.

"Why can't…" Marinette was interrupted.

"I could take you somewhere to show you." He said. Marinette was about to ask about the five minute time crunch after his power was invoked, but managed to stop herself. "I'd have to bring you back and then leave right away." He said before she could think of something to say. Slowly, she nodded. Chat smirked. "Okay, finish your quiche and we'll go." He said.

Marinette took a few more bites before speaking again. "Are you sure you can't just do it here?" She asked.

"I'm sure" he said. Marinette nodded. Once she was done, she stood. She immediately started heading for the door, figuring they would walk somewhere. "Where are you going, Princess?" He asked.

"Where should I be going?" She asked.

"It'll be quicker if I take us." He said, grabbing the baton from his back and holding out a hand to her.

"I, uh, am not sure that's the best…" she trailed off.

"It'll just be a few minutes." He said. Slowly she nodded. "Okay" She said walking back to him. His arm snaked around her back as he stood at the open window.

"Hold on tight." He said before using the baton to vault out of the room and onto the next roof. Marinette expected him to show her there, but instead he ran along the roof and vaulted to the next and then to the next. She was starting to wonder if he would even have enough time to get her back when he finally stopped. "Okay, this is good." He said.

Marinette looked around. They were in a run-down area filled with old warehouses. "Um, Chat? What are we…?" Marinette trailed off.

"Well, I don't want to use it on something that will be missed. Only Ladybug's power can repair the damage, but I don't think she'll be too interested." He said. Marinette gave him a puzzled look. "Let me show you." He said as he made his way to an old lamppost. "Cataclysm!" He shouted. Marinette could see power radiating off of his hand just before he touched the post. The metal decayed from the place that he touched until the entire post was nothing but dust. Marinette just stood with her jaw dropped. "That's...what I do." He said, he hesitated for a moment, waiting for her reaction. His hand nervously moved to the back of his neck as he waited.

She hadn't made a sound as his ring started to beep. She looked down at the ring and noticed that a paw print was missing as he took a step toward her, extending the very hand that had caused the utter destruction of the lamppost. Marinette stepped away from him.

"Marinette I...I know it's scary, but it's safe now. See?" He said, tapping his hand on the wall next to him. "I have to get you back to your apartment before I detransform." He said, looking around quickly.

"I...I never imagined that…" Marinette trailed off. How would she beat him with this power? There was no way that she, as Ladybug, could stand a chance against him.

"Marinette, I would never hurt you. Let me get you home." He said as he took another step forward. Marinette was about to step back again, but realized that he would probably have to leave her if she didn't go with him right then. It was that or reveal himself to her which he'd already shown wasn't an option. She also didn't have Tikki with her. If he left her, she would have to find her own way back to her apartment. This was why she let his arm snake around her again. Soon, they were vaulting quickly through the night. Chat slid Marinette through her window and barely said goodbye before jumping away to detransform out of sight.

Marinette quickly looked after him, trying to see who he was, but he'd disappeared before she stuck her head out of the window. After a moment of looking for him, she closed the window. "Tikki, we need to talk." She said, grabbing a cookie from the still mostly full box that Chat had brought her and taking it to the small kwami.

"What is it Marinette?" Tikki asked sleepily as she took the cookie that was offered to her.

"We need to talk about Chat's ability. How he can destroy whatever he touches." She said.

"He can't destroy everything. Just most things." Tikki said.

"What wouldn't he be able to destroy?" Marinette asked.

"Kwamis, miraculouses, other highly magical items." Tikki said with a yawn.

"So he wouldn't be able to use it on me as Ladybug?" She asked.

"He still could. But I and the earrings would be safe." Tikki said.

"What if he tries to use it on me? What if the next time he sees me he just destroys me with his pinky?" Marinette asked, starting to become hysterical.

"Calm down, Marinette. He wouldn't do that to you. You've heard him talk about Ladybug. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. So, you have nothing to worry about." Tikki said.

"How can you be so sure?" Marinette asked.

"Would you hurt Adrien?" Tikki asked.

"No" Marinette said instantly.

"Exactly." Tikki responded.

"But what am I going to do? How can I fight him knowing that he has that as a secret weapon?" She asked.

"You could always not fight him." Tikki responded.

"I'm not going to be a hero again, Tikki." She said as she crawled into bed.

"You don't have to. You just have to stop pretending to be dead. Live your life and let go of Ladybug." She said. "And let go of all that being Ladybug has taken away from you."

"And what would happen to you?" Marinette asked.

"I would go back to the Great Guardian to wait for the next time a Ladybug is needed." Tikki said. Marinette's brow furrowed.

"That almost sounds nice. Aside from me never getting to see you again. And from the Bourgeois's getting away with murdering my parents." Marinette said. "And there's also a possibility that I could be in danger. We still don't actually know what their motivation was for sure. I wouldn't want to reveal myself just to be killed." She said.

"What motive would someone have to kill you, Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"I don't know, Tikki. I just don't know." Marinette said as she curled into a ball to sleep.

The next morning, Marinette made her way to the closest library. Occasionally, she would still check the Ladyblog, but she didn't have a computer or phone of her own to use. She instead used public computers. She was surprised to see a lot of activity on the site.

Alya had taken to reporting Ladybug's crimes since she stopped being a hero, but now Marinette saw information about Chat Noir. Alya had written a post about how Chat saved Chloe. She'd briefly interviewed him and found out who he was. It wasn't any information that she didn't already know, but a lot of people were commenting on the post wondering if Chat was really a hero or just another fake.

The comments about her truly hurt as people called her a fake and a traitor. But Marinette just shrugged it off. She then saw a new post. It was an interview with Nath.

Yet another classmate of mine was nearly a victim of the Bug herself. Nathanaël is a student in my very class. He relayed his version of the events that transpired last night. He was leaving the Louvre when he had a brief confrontation with the masked villain herself.

He recounts that he hadn't even gotten a block away from the museum before the former heroine swung low and plucked him from the crowd. He recalled the startled look she'd had when she stopped with him atop the museum.

"It seemed like she was expecting someone else. I was terrified." He said.

And yet, he came through the encounter unscathed. When asked how he escaped, he had this to say.

"I asked her what she wanted. And she just said that she wanted people to suffer." He said. He then commented about how he had told Ladybug about a classmate that had passed away.

"She seemed truly sorry and shook by the information. She left me on the roof without another word." He said.

As to whether this tactic would work with all encounters, no one knows.

Marinette looked over the post multiple times even though it just relayed the information she already knew about the encounter. She sighed after re-reading the post and logged out of the computer, knowing she wasn't going to get any more information from it. She didn't even know what she wanted to get from it.

She glanced at the clock on her way out of the library and noted that the school would have let out already. She knew that it was stupid and impulsive, but instead of going home, Marinette ducked into an alley and transformed. 'I'm just going to watch…' she thought to herself as she sailed through the air.

She landed across the street from her best friend's apartment in time to see Alya enter the building with her sisters. She looked up to the apartment to see that the blinds were all closed. Marinette bit her lip. She had really been hoping to be able to see Alya and relive some of the moments that they'd spent in the apartment. She took a deep breath before she went against her better judgment.

She swung across the street to Alya's balcony and hesitantly knocked on the glass door. The teenager pulled the blinds aside. Her eyes widened after a moment and she opened her mouth to shout. Ladybug's hands instantly flew up.

"I'm not here to hurt you or your family." She said quickly. "I just want…" she trailed off as Alya dropped the blinds. "...to talk to you…" Ladybug trailed off. She could hear a commotion being made in the apartment. She assumed that Alya was trying to round up her sisters. Alya was one of the bravest people she knew. She doubted that the girl would be barricading the door or something else to that effect. After a few minutes, the noise died down, but Alya hadn't come back to the door. Ladybug turned and held up her yoyo, ready to throw it when the door opened.

"What do you want?" Alya said angrily. The brunette looked ready for war armed with a frying pan that was already raised and ready to strike.

"I just...wanted to talk." Ladybug said, turning toward her old friend.

"About what?" Alya snapped.

"It's just that I've been running into people from my past, from when I was a hero, lately. You were the most prominent civilian in my life back then. You were the one who wrote about me and who I occasionally confided in. I…" Ladybug paused, thinking. She realized that this would be a great way to explain why her former classmates were safe from her. "I wanted to show you how grateful I am for what you've done for me. So, no one from your class will come to harm by my doing." She said. "I don't want that to be advertised or anything, but they can rest easy." She added quickly.

"And how am I supposed to believe you?" Alya asked.

"I didn't hurt Nathanaël." She said.

"You tried to kidnap Chloe!" Alya said.

"I didn't. I just needed to talk to her alone before she went home. The hotel has too much security for me to sneak in. I wasn't going to hurt her. Just wanted to talk." She said.

Alya's eyes narrowed. "And why would you want to talk to Chloe?" She asked.

"I can't tell you. That truth might put you in danger." Ladybug responded.

"I don't believe you." She said.

"I don't expect you to." Ladybug said, though a large part of her had hoped her friend would believe her. Ladybug turned to go.

"I do have question for you." Alya said and Ladybug turned back toward the girl. Tears were streaming down the brunette's face. "Why didn't you save Marinette?" She asked.

"I...I tried…" Ladybug responded. Alya just shook her head. "Alya, I…" Ladybug didn't have a chances to finish her sentence.

"Don't you dare call me that. We are not on a first name basis, Ladybug." She said. The former heroine looked as if she had been struck across the face. After a moment, she nodded.

"If it's any consolation, they don't think she had much pain." She said before turning to leave again.

"You didn't even use your lucky charm." Alya said through clenched teeth.

"I did everything I could. The firefighters had to drag me away. Don't you dare say that I didn't try to save them!" Ladybug exploded, turning back to Alya and taking a step toward the girl who raised the frying pan again, ready to strike if Ladybug came any closer. "I couldn't find them in the smoke." She said, taking a step back.

Alya slowly lowered the frying pan. "Ladybug, I've...I've heard that you've been investigating it. The fire. It wasn't an accident, was it?" She asked. Ladybug quickly realized where Alya would have gotten that information. She regretted trying to question Chloe even more than she had before.

"That's none of your concern." Ladybug said.

"I want to help." Alya said.

"You can't." Ladybug responded.

"Marinette was my best friend. There is no way that I'm not in on this investigation. Tell me what you know." Alya said. "Or I'll just find it out on my own."

"Marinette wouldn't want you to be in danger. Promise me that you'll honor that." Ladybug said.

"I'm not promising you anything and Marinette isn't here. So, there's no way I can disappoint her." Alya responded.

"If...if she was here, what would you say to her?" Ladybug asked hesitantly.

"Nothing that I'd tell you. Now, are you going to tell me what you know?" Alya demanded more than asked.

"No. Stay out of this." Ladybug said before sailing through the air. Once she was safely in her apartment, she dropped the transformation. "I know, I know, Tikki. That was reckless." Marinette said before the kwami could speak.

"That's not what I was going to say, Marinette." Tikki said.

"What?" Marinette asked.

"You need to be able to confide in people. It's been almost a year and you've been so focused on getting to the bottom of this that you haven't been paying attention to what you need." She said. "I think you should tell Alya." She added.

"And put her in danger? No. I can figure this out on my own." Marinette responded.

"She could help." Tikki argued.

"No, Tikki. She doesn't have a kwami. She doesn't have a Miraculous. What she does have is a family. I can't put her or them in danger." Marinette replied.

"You need help Marinette. You can't do everything on your own." Tikki said. Marinette just shook her head and went into the other room, ignoring the kwami that followed her.


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette had laid low for a few days, not wanting to encounter Chat as Ladybug and not wanting to impulsively go to the Mayor too soon. She hadn't transformed since she went to Alya and had immediately chided herself for taking that risk. Chat hadn't visited since the night that he'd showed her his power and she was starting to wonder if he would come back at all. Though, each night Marinette found mysterious brown bags with delicious food on her window sill. She still hadn't been able to pinpoint what restaurant Chat got the food from.

The raven haired girl found herself confiding more in her kwami as the days wore on and she became more anxious to confront the mayor and get everything out in the open. Occasionally, the kwami needed to have a break. Marinette assumed that was what happened when she looked around from the drawing in front of her to see that Tikki was gone.

Marinette then heard a tapping noise on her window. It was open slightly, enough for the leather-clad hero to get through. "Hello, Chat." She said without getting up from her bed. She instead focused on what she was doing again. She was designing a dress. A shadow fell across her page, but Marinette didn't look up.

"Wow, I forgot how good you were at that." Chat said as he looked at the design. Marinette got to where she felt was a good stopping point and then sat up to look at the hero.

"So, what have you been doing?" She asked, awkwardly. She found herself nervously glancing at his right hand as she waited for an answer.

"Well, I've been following up, discreetly, on Ladybug's theory about the mayor." Chat said.

"And?" Marinette asked.

"And it turns out that your parents were behind on the rent, but only by a month or two. I don't think it's a good enough reason for the Mayor to have burned down the house." He said. Marinette nodded.

"Why would Ladybug be so obsessed with the idea that Mayor Bourgeois is behind the fire?" She asked.

"I don't know, but if she's been investigating this since the fire then she'll know a lot more than me about it." He replies as he set a brown bag down beside her. Marinette curiously peeked inside to see nearly wrapped sandwiches. She sat up and retrieved one from the bag.

"So, how did you get the information? I doubt Chloe would know much about her parents' finances." Marinette said as she unwrapped the sandwich. "And where do you keep getting this food?" She asked as she took a bite.

"I went to Chloe's house. I managed to sneak away and get into her father's files." He said, biting his lip.

"What?" Marinette probed. She could tell he had more to say.

"Late rent might not be the only motivating factor if Mayor Bourgeois was involved." Chat responded.

"Ok?" She said hoping for more information.

"I'll keep looking into it. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you're okay. I haven't seen Ladybug recently and it has me a bit on edge." He said.

"Oh?" Marinette asked.

"I'm worried about what she might be doing." He said, sitting down next to Marinette on the bed.

"Maybe you scared her off?" Marinette suggested as she took another bite.

"Doubtful. I'm just so worried about what she'll do. That she might hurt innocent people. That she might hurt you. As far as I know, she doesn't know that you're alive." He said, staring down at his hands which were clasped in his lap.

"You really care, don't you? About keeping innocent people safe?" She asked.

Chat hesitated. "Marinette, promise me that you won't go after the Mayor or continue investigating. I'll investigate for you. But I need you to be safe." He said, vibrant green eyes meeting her icy blues.

Marinette couldn't speak for a moment, her mouth just hung open. "I can't...I can't promise that, Chat. This is my parents we're talking about." She said.

"Marinette, I don't know what I would do if Ladybug or anyone else hurt you. Please promise me." He said, his hands reaching out and grasping hers.

Marinette couldn't pull her gaze away from his. "Chat, Ladybug won't hurt me. And...and…" She said. Chat shook his head momentarily.

"She's not the same as she was before, Marinette." He said, breaking eye contact. "She's different. She wants to hurt people. I just...I don't think I can lose you again." He said. His eyes returned to hers. "I never told you how I felt. I didn't even realize it, myself, until you were gone." He said. "Please." He pleaded.

"Chat…" Marinette started.

"I don't care if you refuse to reveal yourself to your classmates or if you never want to talk to me again. I just want you safe." He said.

"O-okay." She said before realizing what she was saying. Chat relaxed, allowing his shoulders to slump and a smile to stretch across his face.

"Thank you, Princess. You don't know how much this means to me." He said as his eyes slid closed for a few moments.

"You need to keep me updated, though." Marinette said and Chat looked at her again.

"Of course, Princess. Whatever you wish." He said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Neither even realized that they were still holding hands until Marinette decided to take another bite of her sandwich. "Oh" She said when she realized why she couldn't move her hand. A blush sprang to both of their cheeks as they realized what they were doing. They quickly let go of each other and Marinette turned slightly away from Chat and grabbed the half-eaten sandwich, quickly taking a bite and looking at anything but Chat.

"So, what have you been doing these last few days?" Marinette asked awkwardly after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"I had a lot going on. My parents have me taking a bunch of different classes outside of school." He said.

"Wow, your parents are really hard on you, huh?" Marinette asked.

"It's not so bad. I know my dad wants me to learn more things, but mom drew the line at one extracurricular activity each day and one free day each week." He said.

"Well, I guess you're right, it could be worse." Marinette said. She tried thinking of who she knew who took extra tutoring sessions outside of school. "So, what are you learning?" She asked, hoping to get more information.

"Shouldn't I be the curious one?" He asked with a smirk.

"I guess you're right. It would be best for you to not tell me. I just want to know more about you." Marinette said.

"Maybe after this investigation is done and Ladybug is off the streets." He said.

"Right." Marinette replied. She thought back to what Tikki had said about how she could turn in her Miraculous and go back to her life.

The two of them ate in silence. "I should really be going. Criminals won't catch themselves." Chat said once his sandwich was finished. Marinette nodded.

"I did see that you've been doing good...on the Ladyblog." She said, remembering a few articles about criminals he'd caught. "H-how has Alya been?" She asked hesitantly.

"I should...go. I'll see you later, Princess." Chat said nervously.

"That bad, huh?" She asked.

"I'm not going to pressure you to tell her anything, Marinette. So, I'm not going to talk to you about your classmates." He said.

Marinette nodded. "That's smart." She said as he opened the window a bit more and slipped out, balancing on his staff. "Chat, thank you for investigating for me." She said as she followed him to the window.

"Anything for you, Princess." He said with a smile. He then jumped off of the staff, twirling it above his head briefly before vaulting into the night.

"Marinette!" A squeaky voice exclaimed cheerfully after a few moments. "Did you really just agree to stop investigating? We can go to the guardian and you can have your life back!" Tikki said, rushing up to Marinette.

"Marinette agreed to stop. Ladybug is still free to do as she pleases." Marinette said.

"But you said…" Tikki was interrupted.

"I can't just stop, Tikki. I just can't do it as Marinette anymore." She said.

"But Marinette is Ladybug." Tikki exclaimed.

"Only to you, me, and the Guardian." Marinette replied.

"You can't break your promises just because you put on a mask, Marinette." Tikki said.

"Watch me." Marinette replied a determined gleam in her eye that Tikki didn't like.

A/N: Just a short chapter this time. The next chapter will be Ladybug-centric and had initially been an extension of this chapter, but it just seemed like it's own separate piece of the story. So, I figured it would make more sense to split the chapters up.

I also realized that I haven't been replying to your reviews. Please forgive me.

Ambernot: I'm glad that you liked the concept. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Ddkeac: thank you. I hope the story remains interesting to you.

Mysterious-dragonfly-girl: I'm sorry that I haven't been updating very quickly. Hopefully, you've enjoyed the updates that I have made.

DelayishQueen: I hope the story continues to be interesting to you.

Silvereyesxx: Thank you. I hope the other chapters continue to be enjoyable for you.

TeamSophie909: I intend to continue.

Lightblade23: thank you for your comments. It would be fairly dangerous for her to reveal herself.

Mayuralover: Marinette is very determined and they are going in circles. Interestingly enough, Marinette is starting to crack which was why she went to Alya. She even was about to tell Alya that she was Marinette when Alya interrupted her. I'm glad that you've been enjoying and I hope that the ending, while bittersweet, will be okay for you.

Sonochu: Thank you for your criticisms. I do think that I was a bit unclear in the first chapter. Ladybug's luck is specifically for her and against whoever is against her. So, since the police are actively pursuing her, they're getting bad luck. Similarly, the criminal in the alley had bad luck because of who he was attacking. The criminals are emboldened because Ladybug isn't actively chasing them anymore. She's taken on the attitude that it isn't her problem. She was planning to hunt down the criminal in the alley because he was attacking her and she wanted him to suffer for it. This is going to be a bit different with Chat Noir because of his connection to Marinette.

Guest: Thank you for your comments. And I don't intend to include a huge conspiracy. The reason behind the fire is actually quite simple. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Anonymous Person: I'm sorry that it's difficult for you to read. I'm sure that probably won't get easier as the story goes along, but I do hope that you continue reading. The story isn't going to be too long, but we will see Ladybug and Chat Noir fight.


	6. Chapter 6

Marinette was extremely careful about going out as Ladybug since she saw Alya. It had been two weeks since that day. She made sure to wait for a few hours after Chat left to make sure that he wouldn't see her. Otherwise, she would go out during the day while he was busy.

Chat had come to see her each night, but had distanced himself a bit again as if afraid that she would hurt him. Marinette couldn't blame him. She was sure that she would hurt him in the end. After all, he was standing in her way. She knew that he wouldn't let her exact her revenge. She knew that he would try to stop her and that she would have to fight him like her life depended on it because, with his power, it did.

She hadn't come up with many more leads for why the Bourgeois's would burn down the bakery. That was why she now stood atop an extremely prestigious bank in the middle of the night, trying to figure out a way in without setting off any alarms. She'd been observing the goings-on of the bank for the last few days. Long enough to be able to see one of the banker's login information thanks to her lucky charm. It had been infrared binoculars that had allowed her to see the heat signature of each button being pressed. She'd only had to write down the information.

She had the paper with her, but knew that she would need a way in past the alarm in order to use it. If she set off the alarm, she would be apprehended before she would be able to get out. Ladybug had come to the roof hoping to get into the bank through the air ducts, but had found that they were welded shut. She was hesitant to call her lucky charm as she knew it would take more than 5 minutes to get the information she needed. The last thing she needed was to be caught transforming by security cameras.

She wished that she would be able to just hide out in the bank's bathroom until after hours and sneak out to get the information that way, but she and Chat had gotten into a usual routine and she knew that he would stop by before she would be able to get done.

"Ladybug, what are you doing?" A familiar voice asked from behind her, shaking her out of her thoughts. The red villain immediately stiffened at the sound. She turned slowly to see Chat standing in a relaxed pose with his arms resting on the staff that spanned across his shoulders.

"None of your business, Chat." Ladybug responded as she grabbed her yoyo, ready to fight.

"Well, what can I say, I like sticking my nose in your business, Ladybug." He said with a smirk and a shrug.

"Go away, Chat." Ladybug said, not turning her back on the hero.

"Hm, tempting, but I don't think so." Chat responded.

"I'm not playing, kitty." Ladybug said as she stared down the blond on the edge of the roof.

"That's too bad, I could use a bit of fun." Chat said with a chuckle.

"You can't stop me." She said. Before he could comment, she threw her yoyo at him. Chat reacted quickly by pulling his staff out in front of him, catching the yoyo as the string wrapped around it. Ladybug pulled the yoyo, pulling Chat off balance. She couldn't get the staff from him, though and ended up retracting the yoyo while he stood up and held his staff out in front of him.

"I guess you could say you're making me fall for you." He said with an infuriating smirk. Ladybug let out a shout as she flung the yoyo at him again. This time he twirled the staff, knocking the yoyo away from him effortlessly. Ladybug realized that she wouldn't be able to keep her distance from him if she was going to win a fight against him.

Once the yoyo was retracted, she rushed toward him and aimed a kick at his head which he blocked with his forearm. Ladybug immediately moved to punch him in the stomach and Chat effortlessly dodged, twirling out of the way. Ladybug aimed a kick for Chat's chest which he blocked with the staff.

"What's wrong Bug-a-boo? Cat got your tongue?" He asked with a chuckle as he dodged the yoyo that Ladybug threw at him. Ladybug's eyes just narrowed. She itched to use her lucky charm to wipe the smirk off Chat's face. However, she was on a mission. She knew that she had to stay focused.

"Don't call me Bug-a-boo." Ladybug said through gritted teeth.

"What would you prefer to be called, M'Ladybug?" Chat asked with a smirk, leaning against his staff as if it was a cane.

"Nothing! I'd prefer for you to leave me alone. I have to get back to work." Ladybug said.

"Ah, of course, you're trying to rob the bank huh?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"No, I…argh, I'm not here to rob the bank! I'm here to see…" Ladybug caught herself. 'What am I doing? Quit trying to tell him everything, Marinette!' She mentally chided herself.

"See what, Bug-a-boo?" Chat asked. Ladybug flung her yoyo at him again.

"I told you not to call me Bug-a-boo!" Ladybug shouted as the string wrapped around Chat.

"M'Lady, you seem a bit irritated. Am I bugging you too much?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Did you have a reason for coming up here or did you just want to annoy me?" Ladybug asked.

"While I love poking fun, I did come here for a reason. I can't let you rob the bank Ladybug. People spotted you around here quite a bit over the last few days." He said, seeming unaffected by the fact that he could no longer move his arms due to the binding from Ladybug's yoyo.

"I'm not here to rob the bank. I'm here for information." Ladybug said.

"How's that going for you?" Chat asked, amused as he saw her eyes narrow.

"Once I figure out a way in, I can get the information." She said.

"Seriously, Ladybug, what's in there that you need?" He asked.

"I need files, transaction reports for the Bourgeois family and the Dupain-Chengs." She said specifically.

"So, this is about your investigation." Chat said.

"Why else would I be breaking into a bank?" Ladybug asked to which Chat gave her a pointed stare. "I, uh, don't need the money right now…" she said, shifting awkwardly.

"Still living off of the jewelry heist?" Chat asked.

"I…!" Ladybug responded with a frustrated shout. "I just don't need the money. What I need is information to show me why Mayor Bourgeois had the bakery burned down." She finished after a moment.

"Mind letting me go?" Chat asked after a moment of silence.

"Why would I do that?" Ladybug asked.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Ladybug. I just want to talk." Chat said, Ladybug gave him a skeptical look.

"I know what that hand can do, my kwami told me." Ladybug responded.

"Then you know that I could dissolve your yoyo right now." Chat said with a smirk.

"But it doesn't affect kwamis." Ladybug said, her eyes widening.

"The yoyo, like my staff, are just magic from the kwamis. At least if I understand correctly, it just doesn't affect the kwamis themselves or the Miraculous." Chat added. "Wanna find out?" He asked with a smirk.

"You'd better not try anything." Ladybug said as the yoyo retracted.

"Thanks, M'Lady." Chat responded as he stretched his arms and back. Ladybug waited, keeping a sharp eye on him. "Oh, right, you're not getting into the bank tonight." He said. "Sorry, I just can't let you because, well, your track record with financial institutions isn't the best." He said looking away from her and widening his eye briefly for emphasis.

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" Ladybug asked.

"Absolutely Nothing. If you knew how to get in without setting off the alarms, you would've done it by now. Plus, if you listen really close, I bet you'll hear another reason." Chat said, cupping the cat ear on his head with a smirk.

Ladybug's eyes widened as she looked around. Chat stayed silent for a moment and that's when Ladybug heard it. "You called the police?" She demanded more than asked.

"Guilty as charged. Tell you what, since I've been such a naughty kitty, I'll give you a head start before I chase you." Chat said before starting to count backward from thirty.

As much as Ladybug wanted to get into the bank, she knew that she couldn't risk getting caught. It would ruin everything when she was so close to getting her revenge. It only took her four counts to fling her yoyo and swung away as fast as she could, quickly thinking about where she could go. If Chat was going to chase her, she was going to need to avoid her home. She suddenly realized that she didn't know what all Chat's Miraculous granted him. She didn't know if his tracking abilities would be enhanced.

She decided that it would be best to assume that they would be. Once Ladybug was far enough away from the bank that she couldn't hear the sirens, she stopped, looking out over the rooftops for a sign of the cat-themed hero. When she caught sight of him, she noted how he followed her trail until he arrived at the edge of the roof she was standing on. "Lucky Charm" she instantly shouted.

Her plan was ruined, so she'd decided to take her frustration out on Chat. She expected a deadly weapon to fall into her hands like a sword or at the very least a baseball bat. Chat watched speechless as the Lucky Charm fell into Ladybug's hands.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell, Tikki?!" Ladybug shouted in frustration as a pink heart card fell into her hands. "Consider yourself lucky that my kwami apparently has a sense of humor tonight, Chat." She said angrily as she ripped the unsigned card in half. She didn't notice that Chat stood still with wide eyes as she fled from the roof. She knew that fighting him without a decent Lucky Charm would be bad for her especially since she only had 5 minutes.

She made her way toward the Seine to a spot that was close enough to her house to walk, but far enough away that she wouldn't lead Chat right back to the apartment. "Spots off" She said as she hid under a bridge after checking quickly to see that no one was near enough to see her. She caught her exhausted kwami and glared at the small red being for a moment. "We're talking when we get home, so you're going to need the cookie that's in there." Marinette said as she put Tikki in her purse.

She started walking quickly. It was only a few minutes later that she caught sight of Chat racing across a rooftop along her trail. She ducked into an alley and waited for a moment. She quickly started her walk again once she thought the coast was clear.

"What are you doing out?" She suddenly heard coming from behind her. She turned to see Chat, nervously looking around.

"I was just taking a walk." She said.

"It's not safe out here at night. You should know that Marinette." Chat said as he made his way toward her quickly. He looked around vigilantly before his eyes rested on her again. "Let me take you home." He said.

"Chat, I can walk. It's fine." Marinette replied.

"No, it's not. There are dangerous people who come out at night." He said. "You need to be careful."

"I'm fine, Chat. No one is trying to hurt me." She responded.

"You can't stop me from walking you home at least. Though I do know a quicker way." Chat replied.

"Sometimes the quickest way isn't the best, Chaton." Marinette responded. "Plus, there's probably some damsel in distress somewhere for you to go rescue." She added.

"You're the only damsel for me tonight, Princess." Chat said with a smile to a roll of Marinette's eyes.

"Fine, Chaton." Marinette said. She moved closer to the leather-clad hero and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as his arm snaked around her back. For the first time, she was acutely aware of how intimate traveling like this with him was. She found herself staring into his eyes as he took a moment before clearing his throat.

"Hold on tight, Marinette." He said before using his staff to whisk her through the cool night air.

Before Marinette knew it, they were outside of her window. Chat was perched on his staff and had Marinette sitting on his knee. "Thank you, Chat." She said, her arms still circling around his neck. "I should in room my get." She said as butterflies filled her stomach. She mentally chided herself for the feeling, not even realizing her mistake until she heard Chat chuckling. "What?" She asked.

"It's nothing, Princess. Just don't ever change." He said before reaching out and opening her window in a smooth motion. He easily helped her to slip into her room. He continued to gently hold her hand. "Thank you, Princess." He said before placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. "For letting me escort you home." He added.

Marinette watched in silence as Chat pushed himself away from her window and vaulted into the night. "I think this is going to be a problem, Tikki." Marinette said.

"What is?" Tikki asked as Marinette stepped away from the window.

"I think I know why you gave me the card that I sent to Adrien." She responded.

"Marinette, I have no control over what your Lucky Charm produces. It is simply what you need at the time you call for it." Tikki said.

"I think it's been trying to tell me something." Marinette said, brushing off Tikki's comment. She thought back to the feeling of butterflies in her stomach with a small smile.

"What's that?" Tikki asked.

Marinette just shook her head. "I can't think about it right now. I need a new plan for how to get into the bank." She said, laying down on her bed. "And how I can avoid Chat." She mumbled.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.

Mayuralover: She is starting to have some feelings for him, but she doesn't want to admit it and is still trying to focus on her investigation.

BloomingLight: I'm glad that you enjoyed the story so far. I also hope that you continue to read and enjoy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Prepare for the pronoun game to be played.**

"Are you sure about this, Marinette?" Tikki asked from the girl's purse.

"Yes, Tikki. This is the only way to get what I need." Marinette responded.

"There are other ways, Marinette. Plus, what about Chat? He'll be waiting for you." the kwami asked.

"He can handle one night without me." Marinette said as she sat in the bathroom stall, waiting for the bank to close.

"But what will you tell him?" Tikki asked.

"I'll tell him I went to the store or something. You worry too much, Tikki." Marinette responded.

"I could argue that you don't worry enough." Tikki replied.

Marinette checked her watch. "It's almost time." She whispered. She pulled her feet up onto the stool as she heard the door to the bathroom creek open. She stayed as silent as possible while she sat, hoping the individual wouldn't try to open her stall. After a moment, the bathroom light turned off. Marinette smiled at her luck as she let her feet down. "Now I just have to wait for a bit longer for everyone to clear out and the guards to finish their first round." She stated.

"I still think this is a bad idea." Tikki replied.

"Well, how else am I supposed to get this information?" Marinette asked.

"You could just not get it." Tikki responded.

"Not an option, Tikki. This might help me to figure out why Mayor Bourgeois had them killed." Marinette said. "Plus, if I do this just right, no one will ever know that I was here." She added.

"I sure hope you're right, Marinette." Tikki said. After half an hour, Marinette transformed and snuck out of the bathroom. She made her way quickly up a set of stairs and to the office of the worker that she'd watched. She reached the computer and turned it on. She pulled out her paper and quickly typed in the username and password.

"Access denied?" She asked before typing in the information again. "I know this is right!" She said as she typed it in a third time. "Lucky Charm" she shouted, hoping for something that would help her to get into the computer. A rubber band fell into her outstretched hand. "How is this supposed to help me, Tikki?" She asked, frustrated.

She looked around the room, but nothing lit up. She tried the username and password again, but it was no use. That was when she heard a tap on the window. Slowly, she turned around knowing what would be there, but hoping she was wrong. And there he sat, perched on the end of his staff looking at her with a smug smirk. She didn't know how, but somehow he'd ruined her plan. She made her way to the window and opened it. Alarm bells started to ring and she heard her earrings beep for the first time.

"What the hell?" Ladybug asked.

"Must be national password change day." He said with a smirk.

"That's not a thing!" Ladybug responded.

"It is when when you get a feline someone's going to claw their way into your account." He said. Ladybug wished that she could wipe the smirk off of his face as she heard one of the security guards start to pound on the office door.

"Out of the way, Kitty." She said as she hopped onto the window sill, her face inches from Chat Noir's. Suddenly the butterflies appeared again as she attempted to stare him down.

"You know cats. They're terribly difficult to move when they've found a comfortable spot." He said. Ladybug's eyes narrowed as she reached out and pushed him. She dove out of the window as the guard entered the room and threw the yoyo before she could fall. She watched as Chat used cat-like reflexes to twist and catch himself with his staff. Then she watched as he followed her swinging form.

She tried to speed up to get away from him as her Miraculous beeped again, but found that he would speed up as well. She looked around for anything that she could use. After all, she still had the rubber band. That was when she saw a bag of marbles on a rooftop balcony much like her own had been. She snagged the bag after landing briefly on the roof and proceeded to open it. She took a moment to look around again and saw a forked stick light up and smirked as she got an idea. Soon she had a makeshift slingshot and shot a marble through the night air at Chat.

"Hey, that hurt." Chat said as he came to a stop on the rooftop with her.

"Then maybe you should back off." Ladybug replied another marble ready to shoot across the space between them.

"Ladybug, I couldn't let you get whatever you're looking for. Whatever it is, it wouldn't bring them back." He said.

"I'm not so stupid as to think it would. I want to get revenge for them." Ladybug replied.

"Revenge is only going to hurt more people." Chat replied.

"It's like you don't care." She responded. "Mayor Bourgeois and his wife murdered them and you are telling me not to go after them." She said.

"There are other things you can do, Ladybug. You don't have to break the law to get the information you're wanting." He said. "Look, just give me your Miraculous and I'll take you home. No one ever has to know who was behind the mask. I'll take up looking for information on why the fire was started." He said.

Ladybug's eyes narrowed. "I don't have a home, Chat." She said through clenched teeth. "You're not going to stop me." She added before letting the marble go and watching it pelt him in the chest. She immediately grabbed another. "Stay away or I'll call something deadlier than a slingshot." She said before stashing the makeshift weapon and jumping off the roof, flying through the air with the help of her yoyo as another beep rang through the air.

She made her way quickly into a dark alley and transformed, not even sure if Chat was following her. She quickly placed Tikki in her purse and started sprinting away from the alley. "He must have gone straight to the bank instead of to the apartment, Tikki." She said as she ran. She was too far from her apartment to run the entire way and quickly ducked down into the train station. She looked around nervously for Chat while she waited and was relieved when she was able to get on the train and leave before his arrival at the station.

She didn't look at the other passengers as she sat down and waited for her station. She just kept her head down as the train made multiple stops before her own. She hated using public transportation as she knew that someone might recognize her. She wasn't ready for people to know that she was alive, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to walk back to her apartment.

She waited anxiously until her stop where she rushed off of the train and up to the street. As she was walking toward her apartment, she heard someone walking behind her. She felt her stomach clench as she picked up her pace and heard the person behind her do the same.

She ducked into an alley two blocks from her apartment and rushed to the dumpster, hiding behind the bin while waiting for the person following her to come to the end of the alley. She stared intently while she waited, knowing that she would be able to see who was following her in a moment, preparing what she was going to do.

The person, however, was taking longer than she thought to reach the alley. Marinette started to think that she was paranoid when the person tentatively stepped out into the open. Marinette's breath caught. She hadn't expected to see him again as herself. "Marinette?" He asked hesitantly as Marinette ducked back behind the bin so that she wouldn't be see. "Marinette, I saw you come this way." He added.

Marinette bit her lip, hoping that he would think she just rushed down the alley and fled into the night. She heard him take a few steps into the alley and held her breath. She shrunk back as far into the wall as she could, hoping that he wouldn't find her. However, he was more determined than she thought. He continued to creep down the alley until he came into view again and looked down at her, shock covering his face.

"Marinette. I…" He started as Marinette sprang from her hiding place and sprinted into the night. She rushed to the end of the alley and turned, heading as quickly as she could toward her apartment. She didn't think he would be so fast as he followed her. She didn't think he would be able to catch up to her. However, when he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop she kept her face away from him.

"Let me go." She said simply. She chided herself for getting caught. She didn't remember him being so fast when she'd been in school with him.

"You're here. You're really here." He said.

"I said let me go." She said, yanking her arm away from the tall, lean boy causing him to pitch forward as he lost his balance. He fell gracelessly to the ground, his tablet striking the ground next to him and stylus flying a few feet away.

"Marinette" He said as she looked down at him, unable to mask the worry on her face. He didn't even get up. He just stared up at her with his mouth open slightly.

"Just forget about me." She said, looking away and willing herself to move forward as her feet suddenly felt like they were stuck in concrete.

"But why?" He asked.

"Because I'm dead." She replied.

"No, you're not. You're right here! Why did you let us all believe you were...gone for the last year?" He asked, scrambling to his feet and moving in front of her. He bent so that his face was level with hers, his icy blue eyes staring into hers even as she tried to look away he only followed her movements.

"No one can know that I'm...here." She said, avoiding admitting the truth. Suddenly, she stopped avoiding his gaze. "You can't tell anyone, Nath."

The redhead nodded briefly. "I have so many questions." He said. Marinette looked around briefly.

"I've got to get off the street. Come on, my apartment isn't far." She said. Nathanaël grabbed his fallen items and rushed after Marinette as she made her way to her apartment. She realized that it was no use trying to just get away from him at this point. She just wanted to make sure he didn't tell anyone else about her. She made her way up to the apartment and held the door open for the red-head.

"How did you survive?" He suddenly blurted out as soon as the door was shut.

"I had snuck out earlier that night. I found out what happened later." She said simply.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

"Here" She said.

"Why haven't you reached out?" He asked.

"I'm not sure that it would be safe to. I know that fire wasn't an accident, but I don't know why." She said.

"Someone had your parents killed?" He asked with wide eyes. Marinette nodded. "Oh, Marinette. I'm so sorry." He said as she sat down on the couch and he sat next to her. "Do you know who did it?" He asked. Marinette just shook her head. She didn't want to involve him more than she had to.

"No. And I need for you to not tell anyone about me." She said.

"But…"

"No one" Marinette interrupted.

"Alya at the very least deserves to know." Nathanaël said.

"I'm the one who gets to decide who knows and who doesn't." Marinette responded. She looked over at Nathanaël and her face softened. "I'm just not ready yet." She said.

"Marinette, I…" Nathanaël was interrupted by a tapping coming from Marinette's bedroom window. Marinette sighed.

"Guess I better answer." She said.

"Who's that?" Nathanaël asked.

"You've heard of Chat Noir?" Marinette said as she walked into her room without waiting for an answer.

"Princess, you didn't grab the gift I left yet." Chat said indignantly, holding up the plain brown sack as Marinette opened the window.

"I've been kind of…" Marinette watched as his eyes flicked to something behind her and the smile fell from his face. "...busy." She finished before looking behind her to see that Nathanaël had arrived at the open door to her room. She backed up for Chat to enter the apartment and he did in a swift motion.

"So, I see that you have company." Chat said shortly.

"I...guess…" Marinette responded.

"Pleasure to meet you, Chat Noir." Nathanaël said, holding his hand out for the hero to shake.

"Of all of your classmates, you chose to tell him? Even over the rich model?" Chat asked, turning away from Nathanaël's outstretched hand so that he could exclusively face Marinette. Nathanaël slowly lowered his hand as he looked back and forth between Marinette and Chat.

"Train saw the he me on." Marinette responded, the butterflies stirring as she looked at the hero. 'Stop it, Marinette! Just stop!' Marinette told herself as she saw Nathanaël's eyes narrow into a glare toward Chat.

"Hm…" Chat said, looking at Nathanaël out of the corner of his eye.

"Nath, I think it would be best if you left. Don't tell anyone about me." Marinette said to the redhead as she looked away from Chat and composed herself. Nathanaël nodded.

"Alright, Marinette." He said. "But I'm going to come back and see you again." He added. Marinette could see Chat tense up at the statement. "...to make sure you're okay." He added.

"I'm sure she will be." Chat said at the same time as Marinette said, "okay." Nathanaël looked back and forth between the two again a few times before leaving the room. Marinette waited a moment until she heard her front door shut. She then turned back to Chat, her cheeks going red.

"I was walk out for. Didn't paywhereattention was Igoing. Train. I neededtotrainride. Nath me followedhome." She said quickly in a jumbled mess.

"Princess, Princess. Slow down. One word at a time." Chat said, visibly relaxing.

"I was out for a walk." Marinette said, focusing on the words. "I lost track of time and needed to take the train home." She congratulated herself on her second sentence. "Nath saw me and followed me." She finished.

"Still. You told him? Over everyone else in your class?" Chat asked.

"Jealous, Chaton?" Marinette asked, giggling.

"Never." Chat said. As Marinette gently grabbed the bag from him and looked inside.

"Sushi?" She asked. Chat smirked.

"What cat wouldn't like fish?" He asked.

"Still." Marinette said as she fished the containers out of the bag. "Nath no you worried need." She said as he came just ever so slightly closer to her. "I-I mean Nath doesn't need to be worried about you." She added, her face turning red as she realized she messed up again. "You!" She shouted. "You don't need to worry about Nath!" She added before putting her head into her hand and groaning. "What is wrong with me?" She muttered right before she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Marinette." He said, looking into her eyes. Both of them stood as still as statues, getting lost in each other's eyes.

'He's the reason you're like this! He wasn't there for you!' She shouted to herself as she looked away from him. "I should...ahem." She cleared her throat as she moved away from his touch. "Th-thank you for the sushi." She said, avoiding eye contact.

"It was nothing, Princess." Chat said with a smirk as he took his container. "Well, I am glad that you told someone. Even if it was the tomato head. And even if it wasn't on purpose." He said, grimacing as he referenced Nathanaël.

"Y-You seem upset...that it was Nathanaël." She said as she walked back out to the couch.

"Nonsense." He said as he joined her. She noticed that he was sitting closer to her than he normally would and found that she had no more room to scoot away from him on the couch.

"And you m-mentioned Adrien." She said. Chat paused, his piece of sushi held inches from his mouth for a moment.

"So...that's the model's name?" He asked.

"O-of course it is. Adrien Agreste." Marinette said. She smiled a little as she thought about him. "His father was my idol." She added.

"I could arrange a meeting if you want. Between you and Adrien." Chat said before taking his bite.

"W-w-what?! I mean...I mean no. Want he wouldn't see me." Marinette said quickly as her face turned bright red. "H-he has s-so much more important things to do. He wouldn't w-want to waste…."

"Marinette, you wouldn't be a waste of time for anyone. So don't you dare say that he wouldn't want to waste his time." Chat said, fully turning toward her, his normally flirtatious face set in a dead serious expression.

"O-okay." Marinette said, finding that she was unable to look away from Chat. They stayed in that position, both becoming noticeably uncomfortable until Chat turned away.

"Anyway, if you want a meeting, all you have to do is ask. And that goes for any of your classmates. I'm sure they could be convinced to meet you." He said before continuing his meal. Marinette are in silence. "Oh, before I forget…" Chat trailed off as he unzipped a pocket in his suit and pulled out a flash drive. Marinette gave him a puzzled look as he handed it to her. "Mayor Bourgeois's and your parents' bank statements from the last year." He said.

"How did you…" Marinette trailed off as she stared at the small flash drive.

"Ladybug was trying to get the information. I figured she might have a lead. So, when I stopped by today to make sure that the bankers changed their passwords, I may have snuck this in during a break to get the information." He said with a smile.

"Chat...I…" Marinette felt herself starting to tear up, happy to have the information she needed. She suddenly sprang toward him and wrapped her arms around him. Chat had clearly not been prepared for Marinette's hug as he stiffened briefly before hugging her back. "Thank you." She said.

"It was nothing, Princess." He said as his arms circled around her, pulling her close to him. She felt warmth radiating off of him as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"It wasn't nothing, Chat." She mumbled against his neck.

"Okay, Princess." He said as he rubbed his cheek against her hair gently. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Marinette pulled away.

"S-sorry. I just...this is really important…" Marinette started, looking down at the floor, but was cut off as Chat reached out and gently brought her chin up to look at him.

"You never have to be sorry with me." He said, staring into her eyes. "Marinette…" He trailed off, indecision in his eyes. "I…should go." He finished as he looked away.

Marinette let out a deep breath. "Oh...r-right. Y-you probably patrol to need." She said shakily. She saw Chat smirk and instantly clapped her hand over her mouth.

"It's okay, Princess." Chat said, leaning forward and slightly to the side to give Marinette a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he stood. Marinette just nodded as Chat walked away.

Moments later, Tikki phased through Marinette's purse. "Oh, Marinette, I'm so proud of you!" Tikki said.

"For what?" Marinette asked.

"For telling Nathanaël that you're alive. You could have told him that you were your cousin." Tikki said.

"I panicked. The thought didn't even cross my mind." Marinette replied. "If I'd have thought about it, I wouldn't have told him anything." Marinette said as she fiddled with the flash drive in her hands.

"Chat really cares about you, Marinette." Tikki said. Marinette glared at Tikki. "He risked a lot to get you those files." Tikki pointed out.

"He abandoned me, Tikki. For all those years." She responded.

"And now he's here and he's helping." She said. "And from how you've been acting around him, I'm thinking someone might have a bit of a crush." Tikki said with a wide smile.

"Tikki, don't even start." Marinette said. "I'm going to get some sleep so that I can go to the library with this in the morning." She said.

The floating kwami shook her head as Marinette walked into her room.

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had been debating whether to use Nathanaël or Luka as the person who found her. In the end, I decided to make it Nath as I don't want the story to get completely lost in a love triangle. I'll leave that for future stories.

Mayuralover: yes, he certainly did recognize that valentine. And, as you can see from this chapter, he did take steps to keep Ladybug from getting the information she needed, but also got it for Marinette.

Ddkeac: I'm glad you liked it. I will try to update quickly.

Sayaka M: I'm glad that you like it so far and hope you liked the update. I hope you keep reading for the rest of the story.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Marinette was sitting on the floor of her apartment with printed statements spread around her. She was looking through the Bourgeois statements first, looking for anything suspicious. She didn't find anything in the first few statements. "Come on, Tikki. Time to go." Marinette said, though she didn't look or sound ready to do anything.

"Time for what?" Tikki asked.

"It'll be suspicious if Ladybug suddenly stops trying to get the statements. I have to at least look like I'm still interested in them." She said.

"But what about looking through these statements?" Tikki asked.

"It won't matter if Chat figures out that I'm Ladybug." Marinette said before transforming.

She started swinging through the streets toward the bank, but didn't get far when she heard a scream. Even after all these months, she still couldn't help but to look at what was happening even if she didn't help. Her stomach clenched as she saw the source of the scream.

She saw Nathanaël and an assailant in an alley. The other man had a knife to Nath's throat.

"Give me everything from your pockets." The man said. "Screaming won't help you." He added. Ladybug's eyes narrowed as she swung down into the alley. She didn't even take a second to think as she hauled Nathanaël away from the man and to the roof of the adjacent building. She looked at his neck to see a small red mark with a trickle of blood coming from it. She started to fill with rage. After everything that had been taken from her, she felt like this mugger was trying to take yet another.

Her eyes narrowed as she turned back to the now wide-eyed assailant. "Lucky Charm." She shouted, throwing her yoyo into the air. Finally, Tikki gave her something useful. A hefty sword fell into Ladybug's waiting hand as she realized that she recognized the man as the one that had attacked her on Chat's first patrol. Ladybug was so full of rage that the man had not only not been punished for attacking her, but had gone on to attack her friend. She jumped from the roof with the sword held over her head, aiming to strike the man, not thinking about the possible consequences of that action.

"Ladybug, no!" She heard Nathanaël shout, but that didn't stop her. No, what stopped her was something else that she didn't expect. With a flurry of movement, the leather-clad hero stepped in front of the man, using his staff to block her attack. She didn't notice the brown paper bag tucked into Chat's belt or she would have realized that he'd been on his way to see her.

"Run" he shouted to the man who didn't need to be told twice.

"What are you doing?!" Ladybug seethed as she pulled the sword back, holding it at the ready.

"I'm keeping you from killing him." Chat said.

"He deserves to die! He tried to kill Nathanaël." Ladybug snarled, moving to make her way around Chat to chase the fleeing man.

"I can't let you kill him." Chat said, blocking Ladybug's path again. He didn't seem to fully take in what she'd said.

"Get out of my way, Chat. This has nothing to do with you." Ladybug said angrily as she brandished her sword. Chat didn't move as a beep rang through the air.

"You're going to transform soon." Chat said.

"I don't care. He needs to pay." She said.

"I'm fine, really Ladybug." Nathanaël shouted from the rooftop, obviously having heard her comment.

"Nathanaël?" Chat asked as he looked up confused. His eyes then widened with worry and he looked at Ladybug. "Why are you here?" He asked, looking around.

"I heard the boy scream." Ladybug said simply, trying to get around Chat.

"You shouldn't be here." He said, shaking his head and looking back up at Nathanaël.

"If you don't move I'm going to have to hurt you and I don't want to hurt you." Ladybug said.

"Calm down, Ladybug. I'm okay, really." Nath shouted.

"That man was going to kill him and you're just letting him get away." She growled at Chat, ignoring Nath's comments.

"It's okay, Ladybug. It's not worth you doing something drastic." Chat said, lowering his staff as Ladybug's earrings beeped again. "You have two options. Run out of the alley and detransform to keep your identity secret or keep arguing here and I'll know who you are." He said.

"Like you would just let me go." Ladybug said with narrowed eyes.

"I will. Cat's honor!" He said. Ladybug briefly glanced behind him, but the man was long gone. She knew that she had no way to track him. She glared at the superhero in front of her, knowing that he wasn't going to budge even though his face was drained of color as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"You better get that man locked up, kitty. I doubt he'll be so lucky next time I see him." She said as she dropped the sword and ran to the other end of the alley. She used her yoyo to swing back to her apartment, realizing that Tikki would need a cookie. She was going to get Tikki charged back up and then go back out to try to find the mugger. She had detransformed and was in her kitchen area when Chat rushed through her bedroom window unannounced. Marinette barely had time to hide Tikki with a package of cookies before he rushed through her room to her.

Chat threw his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "You're safe." He said quietly.

"Chat? What are you...?" Marinette started, startled out of her anger from earlier.

"She was so close to here and then I saw that Nath was with her….I was so worried about you, Marinette." He said.

"I'm fine, Chat." Marinette said, realizing why he was worried. She hadn't realized before what he would think of Ladybug protecting Nathanaël so close to her apartment. "But what is going on with Nath?" She asked, pulling away from Chat slightly.

"He was mugged. Ladybug was furious. She was going to kill the mugger. I...I let her get away Marinette. I wanted to check on you so badly that I let her get away." Chat said.

"Chat...I…" Marinette started, but was cut off as something loud banged on the door and the two jumped apart.

"Marinette?" Nath called from the other side of the door.

"Nath...come in. Chat told me about what happened. What are you doing here?" Marinette asked as she opened the door.

"I told you that I would come over." He said. "What's all that?" He asked, looking into the apartment.

"Oh...it's, uh...bank statements." She said, moving aside so that Nathanaël could enter the apartment. He went over to the papers and looked at them.

"Mayor Bourgeois's bank statements? How did you get these? Why did you get these?" He asked, surprised.

"C-Chat and Ladybug think he might have had something to do with the fire." She said, fidgeting nervously.

"Chat and Ladybug are working together?" Nath asked with wide eyes, looking between Marinette and Chat.

"No" Chat said at the same time as Marinette spoke.

"N-not really." Marinette responded. "But I'm looking for anything suspicious. Anything that might have been motivation." She said, sitting down and starting to look through another statement. This one was from 3 months ago. Marinette's brow furrowed. "Where'd all of this money come from?" She asked aloud.

"Chloe's parents are rich." Nath said with a shrug.

"No, they got a substantial amount of money between these two statements." Marinette said, holding up a statement from two months after the fire and then the one that she'd just gone through. Chat came and sat down next to Marinette, peering at the statements over her shoulder.

Nath looked at the statements and his eyes widened. "That is a big difference." He said. Marinette and Nath continued to look through the statements. That was until she felt a warm hand on her back. Her eyes widened and she froze. "You should eat, Princess." Chat said softly, offering her the slightly crumpled bag.

"Her name is Marinette." Nath snapped.

"I know that." Chat responded.

"Then call her by her name." Nath said.

"I'll call her what I want. You don't mind, do you _Purr-incess_?" Chat asked, emphasizing the nickname.

"N-n-no, I don't mind." She said, still not moving.

"She's clearly uncomfortable. Back off." Nath said.

"Maybe she's just uncomfortable because you're here." Chat said. "How are you here? I don't remember seeing a way down from that roof." Chat asked.

"Would you both stop?" Marinette asked in a quiet voice before Nath could respond.

"Okay, Princess." Chat said, staring at Nathanaël with a smirk. "I did bring you some Parmesan Chicken. There's not enough for everyone because I didn't realize we would be having company. And it might be a bit mixed around because of all of the excitement earlier." Chat said as Marinette moved enough to sit back and then flailed her arms as he pulled her close to him, draping his arm over her shoulder.

"C-Chat…we should b-b-be looking through the…" Marinette started, but was cut off as Chat started gently rubbing her shoulder, still glaring at Nathanaël.

"We will, but I think you should eat first. I did have this made specially for you." He said. Marinette looked at Nathanaël to see that he was fuming.

"Marinette, I think that this is more important than pasta." Nath said.

"R-right. Nath's right, Ch-Chat." Marinette said as she tried to pull away.

"Okay, Princess." Chat said before giving her a peck on the cheek which instantly caused her cheeks to flare red.

Nath nearly crumpled the statement that he was holding while he watched Chat with narrowed eyes. Marinette tentatively reached out and grabbed another statement. She held it up in front of her so that she couldn't see either Chat or Nath. She could hear Chat grab a statement as well.

The three went on to look through the statements for another hour when Chat announced that he had to leave. "What?" Marinette asked.

"I've gotta make sure Paris stays safe, Princess." He said.

"Such a shame." Marinette heard Nath mutter as she walked Chat back to the window.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Marinette." Chat said before bowing and kissing the back of her hand gently. He then swiftly slid out of her window and vaulted into the night.

"Finally! I thought he'd never leave." Nathanaël said from Marinette's door.

"He's not normally like that." Marinette said, nervously twisting the hair from one of her pigtails.

"I don't like him. How much do we really know about him?" Nath asked.

"He's Chat Noir. He's a hero. There's nothing to worry about." Marinette said dismissively.

"We don't know who he is or what his motives are. He didn't even get me down from that stupid roof. Another 'hero' had to." Nath said.

"What?" Marinette asked.

"He's probably a traitor just like Ladybug. He's not a hero. He'll turn on us just like she did." He said with distaste, not realizing that Marinette had been asking about the other hero. Marinette furrowed her eyebrows and found herself giving Nath a strong glare, her questions being replaced with anger.

"Ladybug isn't a traitor. How could you even say that?" She asked.

"Ladybug turned her back on Paris, on us, for no reason." He said. Marinette shook her head.

"I'm not having this argument with you, Nath." She said.

"I just don't think that Chat should come around anymore." He said.

"You know, I think it's time for you to go home." She responded.

"Just because you like him doesn't mean you should trust him completely." Nath said.

"I said go home Nathanaël." Marinette said forcefully.

"Just think about what I said, Marinette." Nath replied before leaving the apartment.

"That could have gone better." Tikki said as she came out of hiding.

Marinette went back to looking at the statements, ignoring Tikki. Her eyes widened as she looked through the first statement she grabbed. It was a statement from 5 months ago and she could see from the beginning and end balances that this was the statement where they got a sizeable amount of money.

Marinette scanned the pages in her hands until she found it. "What is this?" She asked as she saw the unfamiliar name of the company.

"Maybe you should look into it tomorrow? Or maybe rope a certain superhero into looking into it?" Tikki asked. Marinette nodded. She then furrowed her brow.

"Nath said something about another superhero. I thought that it was just me and Chat Noir." Marinette said.

"There are many Miraculouses, Marinette. It is possible that the Guardian found a suitable holder for one of the other, less powerful ones. Perhaps the bee or the peacock." Tikki said.

Marinette pursed her lips. "I don't like not knowing about them whoever they are. Do you feel up for going out again tonight?" Marinette asked. Tikki's eyes widened.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea Marinette. You almost killed a man last time...without even thinking about it." Tikki said.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't be trying to track that waste of space down. I need to find out more about this hero, see if they're a threat to me." Marinette said.

"Okay, Marinette, but be careful. We don't know who this person is." Tikki said. Marinette nodded before transformation for the second time that night and swinging out into the night. She made her way back to the roof that she'd left Nath on, looking for clues about the new hero.

When she didn't find anything, she swung through the streets, looking for high crime areas. If this new hero was still out there, they would likely be looking for crime to fight. After all, that was what new heroes did.

After searching for hours, Ladybug didn't find anyone that appeared to be a new hero stalking the city. She decided to check the Eiffel Tower just in case. It was one of the first places she'd gone as a superhero.

She was surprised when she made her way up the structure only to see a heroine dressed in and orange and white suit which made her look a bit like a fox complete with a mask and two long ears on either side of her head. Her long brown hair was tied back in a high ponytail and was tipped white.

Ladybug stared at her for a few moments while to fox-themed heroine stared back. "Ladybug." She said, her eyes narrowing.

"And who are you?" Ladybug asked.

"You can call me Rena Rouge." The woman said as she pulled a flute from the back of her suit. Ladybug started spinning her yoyo, not quite sure what to expect as Rena put the flute up to her lips. She closed her eyes and started to play. Ladybug had a feeling that it wasn't going to work out well for her and called her Lucky Charm. A pair of sunglasses fell into her hand and she instantly put them on as Rena shouted "Mirage" and threw a light that had built up at the end of the flute toward Ladybug.

Ladybug closed her eyes and put her hands over her face to shield herself, but found that nothing happened. She took off the sunglasses briefly and saw a cage surrounding her. When she put the glasses back on, the cage disappeared. Ladybug smirked. "Nice try Rena, but I see right through you." Ladybug said and walked forward past where the image of the bars was.

Rena just glared at Ladybug. "You won't be so lucky next time." She said. As both of their Miraculouses beeped. Ladybug was about to swing off into the night when Rena rushed at her, swinging the flute like a sword. Ladybug just had enough time to twirl her yoyo, making a shield to deflect the attack.

"If you don't stop, we'll both transform back." Ladybug said as Rena turned and jabbed at her with the end of the instrument.

"Good, then I'll know who to send the police after." Rena responded as Ladybug used her yoyo to deflect the attack.

"I'll know who you are, too. Do you really think the police would catch me before I could track you down?" Ladybug asked.

"It would be all the better for you to come to me." Rena replied as she tried to strike Ladybug again. Ladybug used her yoyo to swing around Rena and kick her in the back.

"It'll be more difficult than you think to catch me." Ladybug said as Rena pitched forward, managing to maintain her balance before turning and lashing out again. Ladybug stepped back as she used her yoyo as a shield. She flung the yoyo at Rena when she saw an opening. Rena used her flute to block the strike.

A second beep ripped through the air as the two continued their fight, neither of them gaining the upper hand. As the third beep came, Ladybug decided that it was best to just leave even if Rena tried to follow or stop her. Rena followed Ladybug for a few blocks before the fox-themed heroine seemed to lose track of the red villain. Ladybug almost made it back to her apartment before her transformation wore off.

"That was dangerous, Marinette." Tikki said as Marinette put the kwami in her purse. Marinette sprinted the last few blocks to her apartment building even though she knew that Rena had to have transformed back into her civilian form as well. She didn't stop running until she was in her apartment, having taken the stairs two at a time. She leaned against the door breathing heavily for a moment before relaxing enough to grab a cookie for Tikki.

"That was a close one. I guess I'll have to be more careful about going out as Ladybug. Chat may let things slide, but Rena definitely won't." Marinette said as she caught her breath. "At least I know that her power is illusion. It'll make it easier to deal with her."

"Don't underestimate her, Marinette. Illusion is a powerful ability. You were lucky tonight, but you won't always be able to get a Lucky Charm that will let you see through the mirage." Tikki said. "Sometimes, you'll need something else or you will have already used your Lucky Charm." Tikki said.

Marinette nodded. "Okay, Tikki. I'll be careful." Marinette responded.

 **A/N:** This chapter has gone through massive rewrites. The first iteration was cringeworthy. However, I feel like this one is decent. The first iteration had Ladybug saving Nathanaël after Nath and Chat left the apartment, Chat kissing Marinette (it's too soon, but I couldn't stop myself for a moment), and Nath bringing Rena back to Marinette's apartment (after Chat left) and all of the tension that reunion caused (note: Rena called Nath a fire hydrant).

Bananarock509: Yeah, he's certainly going to have some mixed emotions over that. Though he won't have much time to think about it. I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Fenikkusu94: Ask and ye shall receive. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Veronica: I'm glad that you like it so far and am happy that you're excited about the story. I hope you continue to enjoy it and that I don't keep you hanging in suspense for too long between chapters.

mayuralover: I do agree that it would be good for Marinette to have Chat get her all of the info she needs. Her main issue is that she thinks she has to do everything herself and so it doesn't cross her mind to antagonize him into getting information for her. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Guest: In this story, Adrien's mother isn't missing/dead. She's very much so an active family member in the Agreste family. Adrien didn't feel pushed to escape like he did in the show because his mother balances out his father's strict nature. He had been going to appear before, but Ladybug kicked butt right in front of Adrien and he didn't think that he could compare. He has massive self-confidence issues. And yes, Mari's stutter is back. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope that I answered your questions sufficiently.

ddkeac: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you liked this one as well.

Fire and Flames: At this point, there isn't a plan for Marinette to talk to Adrien, but it might happen at some point. I'm glad that you like the story so far. And yes, you can look forward to more Nathanaël. As for Chat acting on the valentine, it might lead somewhere interesting. Though since this story is following Marinette exclusively (until the final chapter or two) we won't find out much about what he's doing about it because he isn't just going to tell Marinette or Ladybug about how he knows about the valentine because he knows it might put him as Adrien.


	9. Chapter 9

Marinette didn't have many really bad days anymore. She had her revenge to focus on and that normally kept her from thinking too much about her parents. However, there were times when something would spark her memory. Normally on those days, she charged her old phone and spent the day in bed looking at the old pictures of her parents.

This day was one of Marinette's really bad days. It had started with Marinette going to the library and looking up the name of the company. It was an insurance company, but Marinette didn't know how that would have played into her parents' death as their home wasn't worth much. She had started her walk home, trying to figure out what the insurance company would have had to do with her parent's death when she saw a couple. The tall burly man had his arm around his short, black-haired partner. She only saw them from behind, but they reminded her so much of her parents that she almost reached out to them at the street corner. They boarded a bus before Marinette could do something that she would regret.

The young woman had then rushed home with feelings that she'd buried over the months bubbling to the surface. Yes, this was, indeed, one of Marinette's very bad days.

This day, however, was even worse because, try as she might, Marinette couldn't find her old phone. She'd already torn the tiny apartment apart multiple times. She'd looked through the dresser, under the bed, in the cupboards. She had even looked in the freezer. The phone was gone.

Tikki had tried to console her, but Marinette didn't even listen to the kwami. She just continued to pull things out of her drawers, not that there was much, and toss them over her shoulder in her search. Her apartment floor was littered with clothes, sewing needles, thread, paper, silverware, and even the personal care items she'd found in the bathroom while looking for the phone. Marinette was so wrapped up in what she was doing that she didn't hear the telltale tapping.

She just continued what she was doing. She'd started on the cupboards again, crouching on the kitchen counter so that she would be able to reach the highest shelf when she felt his arms snake around her. Marinette's arms flailed and she released a scream, but the arms didn't leave her.

"What's wrong, Princess?" His voice whispered in her ear as Marinette fell backward. The hero had caused her to lose her balance. He was quick, though and managed to move one of his arms fast enough to catch her under her knees so that he was holding her as if she was his bride.

"C-Chat?" She asked. It was the first thing she'd said since she saw the couple.

"I'd put you down, but it's a bit messy." Chat said as he carried Marinette to her bed. Chat sat her down and sat next to her, looking at her intently.

"Chat...w-what are you doing here?" Marinette asked.

"I decided to come over early to help you look through those statements." Chat said simply. "Now, Princess, what's wrong?"

As Marinette looked into Chat's eyes, her face started to contort against her will. She had held it in, focusing on trying to find the phone, but she couldn't hold it anymore. She suddenly burst out in tears without a word and leaned forward to put her head in her hands. Chat placed a comforting hand on Marinette's back and rubbed it in gentle, soothing circles as Marinette sobbed uncontrollably.

He let her have a few moments of silence as she wept before trying to speak to her again. During that time, he tried to comfort her by rubbing her back and sitting close to her, even though it didn't seem to work. "Is there something you're looking for, Princess?" Chat asked, giving Marinette his full attention. Marinette nodded, her cries slowing.

"I c-can't f-f-find my ph-phone." She sobbed before crying again. "It's the o-only p-pictures of m-m-my…" she trailed off in tears as Chat's arms circled around her again.

"Shhh, Princess. I understand. You don't need to say any more." He said gently into her ear. He rocked gently back and forth with her as she cried and rubbed gentle circles into her shoulder. "I'll look for it. You rest." He said softly before pressing his lips gently to her forehead. He held her for a few more minutes while she continued to cry before he stood. Marinette turned, laying down on the bed and continuing to let her emotions run from her eyes and down her cheeks.

Chat started in her kitchen to give her some privacy. He deposited his nightly offering to her in the refrigerator before turning to the messy apartment. He looked through her cupboards, sure to not make more of a mess than there already was. He didn't find the phone in either the cupboards or drawers. He checked the bathroom as well and found nothing. He pulled the couch away from the wall and checked behind it, under it, and between the cushions. When he was sure that the phone wasn't in the room, he went about picking up the debris from when Marinette had been searching. He organized and cleaned the apartment as he heard Marinette's sobs soften and end.

When he'd finished cleaning, he inched back into her room and saw that she'd fallen asleep. He looked through her dresser drawers and under her bed before cleaning the room like he'd done with the rest of the apartment. He still hadn't found the phone when he finished. He gingerly reached between the mattress and box spring. It was there that he felt something odd. He pulled the item out and smirked, seeing the phone.

He quickly grabbed the charger he'd put in her dresser and plugged the phone into the wall beside her bed. He then brushed her hair away from her face. He'd tried to be gentle, but Marinette woke at his touch. "Sorry for disturbing you, Princess." He said softly as she started to sit up. "I found it." He added, motioning toward the phone.

Marinette stared at Chat in disbelief for a moment. "Y-you found it?" She said, her lip quivered, threatening to make her cry again as Chat nodded with a smile. He opened his mouth to speak as there was a knock on the door.

"Oh no, the apartment is a complete mess!" Marinette said with wide eyes as her fingers clutched the charging phone.

"No, no it's not. Everything is cleaned up. Good as new." He said. Marinette looked at the door to the bedroom and then down at the phone and then back up. She knew that only two people could possibly be knocking on her door. It had to be either her landlord or Nath. She knew that she'd paid rent already, so she assumed it was Nath.

"Do you want me to tell them to go away?" Chat asked slowly. Marinette shook her head.

"I-It's probably Nath. I sh-should probably talk to both of y-you about what I found." Marinette said. Chat nodded and got up from the bed. "W-what are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm going to let him in. It wouldn't do to keep the tomato head in the hallway." Chat said. Marinette nodded and soon Chat was back, holding the statements, with Nathanaël in tow. Nath paused as he saw Marinette's puffy red eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Chat spoke first. "Marinette found something." He said, nodding to her.

"R-right. I, um, the insurance company. There was a payout in October." She managed to get out, sniffing as quietly as she could while she spoke.

"What kind of insurance?" Nath asked as he snagged the statements from Chat and started paging through them, sitting tentatively on the edge of Marinette's bed. Chat sat down as well, though Marinette noticed that he was sitting further away than he'd been before.

"I don't know. I just...they sell everything it seems. W-we would need more information about the policy." Marinette said as she pointed out the income on the third page of the statement. "I-It probably doesn't even have anything to do with it." She said, her shoulders slumping, defeated. "I don't even know why I bothered looking into this." She said.

"Marinette, don't talk like that. If it's a dead end, then we'll find something else." Chat said. Marinette saw his hand twice ever so slightly as if he had to stop himself from reaching out to her. Marinette frowned slightly, unsure why Chat was suddenly distancing himself. After a moment, she nodded.

"I guess." She said. "S-so who's the new superhero?" Marinette asked.

"Huh?" Chat responded with a raised eyebrow.

"N-Nath mentioned a new hero last night." She said.

"She said her name is Rena Rouge. That's all I know, really." Nath responded. Chat nodded.

"How do you know she's a hero, then?" Chat asked.

"She saved me when _someone_ left me stranded on a roof." Nath said, eyes narrowing.

"Right, I knew there was something I forgot." Chat said, tapping his smirking lips gently with one finger.

"So, no one knows who she is or what she's doing?" Marinette asked. Chat and Nath both shook their heads.

"She's news to me Pr-Marinette." Chat said as Nath's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure that Nathanaël and I can go through the rest of these statements to see if we find anything else. You should rest. You've had quite a day." He added. Marinette looked between Nath and Chat with a worried expression. She knew that the two didn't get along. "I'll be on my very best behavior, Cat's honor." Chat said with a wide smile as he held up his right hand.

Marinette smiled. "Okay" She said. The two left the room, even though Nath looked confused. Both went into Marinette's living room and sat down to go through the statements. Marinette laid down and gently grabbed the still charging phone. She turned it on and, with a shaking hand, went through the pictures that were on it. She couldn't help the tears that started to flow down her cheeks again as she saw her parents' smiling faces.

She found herself thinking about how everything could have been different. She wondered what she and her parents would have been doing at this very moment if they hadn't died. She absentmindedly played with her earrings as she looked through the photos. Suddenly, she found herself thinking about the fact that Chat was in the very next room. Chat and his Miraculous were right next to her and she knew that he wouldn't expect her to take the ring. She knew that she had the element of surprise.

" _You'd be taking away someone else's parents."_ Her kwami's words echoed in her mind. Her stomach clenched as she thought about the possibility. About how she had the power to get everything she wanted, but would have to sacrifice innocent people to get it. Even so, at that moment, on that day, she knew that she would do it. If Chat was still in the room, she would grab his Miraculous without hesitation and use it.

As much as she told herself she wouldn't do it, she knew that she would if the circumstances were correct. She continued to flip through the photos as Nath and Chat quietly looked through the statements. After crying more, Marinette found herself drifting off to sleep. She awoke a few hours later to a certain hero pushing a gentle kiss into her forehead.

As he pulled away, he locked eyes with her. "You're too light of a sleeper, Princess." He said with a smirk.

"Where's Nath?" Was the first question that popped into Marinette's head.

"He left. I was about to leave, too." He said.

"Did you find anything?" Marinette asked. Chat shook his head solemnly. "Okay." She said as she sat up. She then looked at Chat curiously. She wanted to ask about his ring, but what came out of her mouth was, "Why were you acting so strange earlier?"

"Oh, I...well I didn't think you would notice…" Chat trailed off. Marinette continued to stare at him. "I could tell that you were having a rough time and didn't think an argument between me and the tomato head would help." He said.

"You can quit calling him a tomato head." Marinette said with a roll of her eyes.

"And what would you rather me call him, Princess?" Chat asked, moving ever so subtly closer to her.

"Y-you can call him Nath." Marinette said, her still bloodshot eyes getting captured in Chat's gaze.

"I'll think on it, Princess." He said before taking her hand and kissing it gently.

"C-Chat?" She asked hesitantly. Chat mumbled an unintelligible response. "C-can I s-see your ring?" She asked. Chat paused and sat back to look at her with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Why, Princess, are you asking a hero of Paris to give you jewelry?" He asked in a teasing voice.

"I just want to see it. I've never seen a ring like it before." She said.

"And you probably won't again. It's called a Miraculous it's what makes me, well, me." He said, holding his hand out gingerly for her to see the ring. Marinette reached for it, but Chat pulled his hand away. "Sorry, Princess, you can just look. You can't touch. If this gets taken off, then you'll see who I am." He said.

"Right. That would be bad." Marinette said, looking to his face. She leaned slightly closer to him, aiming her face toward his. She expected him to meet her part way. After all, he'd been flirting with her since he met her. She figured that the distraction might allow her the opportunity to get the ring.

And yet, Chat didn't meet her part way. "I'm...I would really like to...but not like this, Marinette." He said after a moment. Marinette sat back, looking at Chat with confusion. "You've had an emotional day, Princess. I don't want you to make any rash choices that you'll regret because of it." He said, giving her a peck on the forehead. Marinette was about to respond when he backed off of the bed and started across the room. "Oh, there's soup for you in the refrigerator. You just have to heat it up." He said as he hopped on her window sill. "And Princess, sleep tight." Chat said before diving out of the window.

Marinette stared at the window with her mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. She didn't expect him to leave so suddenly and she didn't understand the feeling that it caused in her stomach. "Oh, Marinette, you've had such a long day." Tikki said.

"Yeah." Marinette said shortly, looking at her phone again for a brief moment. "Let's go out, Tikki." She said before transforming. She swung through the city, wanting to clear her head. It was then that she realized she should, again, try to make an appearance by the bank. She made her way to the building and landed on the roof with a soft thud.

She sat on the edge of the roof with her feet dangling off. She waited for Chat to arrive, figuring that he would be by shortly. As she waited, she looked out across the city. The bank wasn't exactly the tallest building, but Ladybug could still see most of the surrounding area. As Ladybug waited, she listened to the sounds of the city, something she used to do often as a hero.

While she was waiting, she heard a thump behind her. She smirked, assuming they were going to have a half-hearted fight. Though she realized that it would be a great opportunity to take his ring. "Gonna tell me what a bad bug I am, Kitty?" Ladybug asked with a smirk as she heard a whistling sound. The smirk fell from her face and her eyes widened as she stood and turned. It was Rena, not Chat who'd found her.

Ladybug threw her yoyo at the heroine, but wasn't quick enough. "Mirage" the fox hero shouted as a blinding light was thrown at Ladybug. Ladybug shielded her eyes, but this did nothing to help. When she let her hands down, she saw not one Rena, but 12. "This should be easy to figure out." She said with a smirk as she threw the yoyo at one of the women in front of her. The Rena she'd targeted moved to knock the yoyo away. Ladybug smirked and rushed forward, assuming this was the correct Rena. However, then a different Rena swung her flute toward Ladybug and, instead of disintegrating or passing straight through the red-clad villain, it made solid contact.

The Renas moved around the roof quickly. Ladybug couldn't determine which one had hit her, but knew that had to be the correct Rena. "Lucky Charm." She shouted, throwing her yoyo up into the air. A can of spray paint started falling through the air toward Ladybug's outstretched hand, but never arrived. One of the Renas had jumped and snatched it out of the air. Ladybug looked around, seeing that now all of her adversaries had a can of red spray paint.

Ladybug heard Rena's Miraculous beep and threw her yoyo toward the noise. Rena simply moved and sprayed Ladybug with the paint. Ladybug shielded her eyes just in time as the fox hero tackled her to the ground and quickly pinned her arms to her sides. "Time's up, Ladybug." Rena said, reaching for Ladybug's now-beeping earrings.

"No" Ladybug said trying to squirm away, but finding herself pinned as Rena straddled her chest, pinning Ladybug's arms to her sides and sitting just far enough forward that Ladybug couldn't wrap her legs around the other girl to pull her off.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice called. Both girls stopped moving.

"Chat Noir?" Both said in unison as Rena's Miraculous beeped a second time.

"I hate to break up a little cat fight, but I've never seen you around." Chat said, draping his arms around the staff that stretched across his shoulders.

"Do you really think this is the time for introductions?" Rena snarled.

"It seems both of you are a bit short on time." He responded as Ladybug's Miraculous beeped for a second time.

"Get her off of me, Kitty!" Ladybug called. "I promise to leave the bank alone." She said.

"Hm...tempting." Chat said with a tilt of his head.

"You can't really believe her." Rena responded.

"I'm telling you the truth." Ladybug said as she continued to struggle.

"If we let her go now, she'll just cause havoc tomorrow." Rena responded. "We need to catch her tonight." She said.

"Also tempting." Chat said.

"Chat, what would Marinette…" Ladybug started.

"You don't get to say her name." Rena screamed in rage before balling up her fist and moving to punch the struggling villain beneath her. Chat lept into action, grabbing Rena's wrist. "She's the reason Marinette is dead!" Rena snarled as she tried to pull her wrist from Chat's grasp. With their struggle, Ladybug was able to maneuver just enough to hook one leg under Rena's arm. Soon both heroes were thrown off balance and Ladybug lept from the building, her earrings beeping again.

She swung frantically from building to building toward her apartment, not even sure if she was being followed as she ducked into an alley within walking distance, knowing she wouldn't make it the whole way. "Spots off." She said, catching Tikki and quickly putting the worn out kwami back in her purse as Marinette ran toward to other end of the alley. She heard someone running closer to the alley and ducked behind a dumpster, hoping it would work better than the last time.

"I know you're here, Ladybug." An angry voice rang out. Marinette stayed hidden as well as she could as the other woman rushed down the alley. Marinette caught a glimpse of her pursuer when she passed and her breath caught. Could Rena really be Alya? There was no other reason Marinette could come up with for why Alya would be chasing Ladybug in this part of Paris. Alya rushed off into the night and Marinette waited a few moments before running out of the alley in the opposite direction.

She ran all the way back to her apartment building.

 **N/A:** Hope you all enjoyed.

Silvereyesxx: I'm glad that you enjoyed the previous chapters.

Ddkeac: Thank you. I hope this one was enjoyable as well.

Clarisa: Thank you for your comments. I like that you've been enjoying the story so far. With regards to Adrien's mother, it really did make his want to leave the house smaller. This is why he didn't immediately go out with Plagg like he did in the show. However, he still would have wanted friends. As for his self-esteem, it really is just in regards to being a hero. Really, though, I didn't think through how he would have met Master Fu. I might have to think on that and add it into a flashback in one of the last couple of chapters as they will likely be in Chat's perspective.

RushAlias: at this time, I don't plan on it, but things could always change.

BananaRock509: I'm glad you've liked it so far.

Mayuralover: I'm glad you're liking the story. As for how Alya got the Miraculous let's just say that Master Fu knows a lot more about Marinette than she realizes. He recognizes that she's spiraling and knows that Alya would be the best candidate to bring her back.

DarkBat666: Ask and ye shall receive...eventually. Sorry for keeping you hanging for a few days. Hopefully, this chapter will tide you over for a few more.


	10. Chapter 10

"I saw our new friend the other night." Chat said after swallowing a bite of his Stromboli. Marinette raised her eyebrows. "You're a really hot-button issue for her." He added.

"Oh?" Marinette asked, feigning interest.

"Yeah. She, uh, attacked Ladybug." He said. "I didn't see much of her, but it seems like she blames Ladybug for your 'death.'" He said, using air quotes.

"I wonder why?" Marinette stated even though she knew full well why Rena was after Ladybug and why Marinette was such a sore subject for her. "Do you know who she is?" She asked, curious to see whether Chat followed the heroine.

"No, both she and Ladybug ran off last night. They were both pretty close to detransforming." He said.

"Don't you want to know who they are?" Marinette asked, mentally kicking herself. Who was she to try to talk Chat into actively trying to figure out that she was Ladybug?

"Of course, I do. But I don't want to force them." Chat said, though it seemed like there was more that he wasn't telling her.

"That's pretty noble, Chaton." Marinette replied.

"Well, I wouldn't want them finding out who I am. Though it seems like we're all connected in some way." He said.

"How So?" Marinette asked.

"Well, through you really. Ladybug tried to save you and thinks she failed, Rena blames Ladybug for your death, and I...knew you both before and now." Chat said with a slightly awkward pause.

Marinette nodded and took a bite of her food. "Right." She said, looking away from him. "So, have you heard anything about that policy or how I might be able to get the information?" Marinette asked.

"I'm working on it. I just need to get into Mayor Bourgeois's hotel and into his finance cabinet again. He has all paper statements." Chat said.

"And how would you get into it? A guy in a leather catsuit isn't exactly inconspicuous." Marinette giggled.

"I'm not always in the suit, Princess" Chat said with a wink. Marinette's cheeks instantly heated and she looked away.

"S-so d-d-do you plan a have?" She stuttered. She cursed herself. She had been doing so well.

Chat chuckled before replying. "Yes. I'm actually friends with Chloe. It's just...when I'm there she doesn't give me much breathing room." Chat said.

"She must've changed since I left school. The only friends she ever had were Sabrina and Adrien. And I don't even know why Adrien gave her the light of day." Marinette said, scowling. "She's such a spoiled brat." She added.

"Chloe isn't that bad. You just have to see the side of her that she hides from everyone else." Chat said.

"I've known Chloe since grade school. Trust me, she's a terror. Maybe she just puts on a mask for you like she does for Adrien." Marinette responded. She then paused as she thought, recounting the similarities. She stared at Chat while she thought. Both were friends with Chloe. Both knew her as Marinette. Both were blond-haired and green eyed. She was about to ask him if he was Adrien when she stopped herself, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"Everything okay, Princess?" Chat asked, cocking his head to the side. Marinette nodded.

"Chat?" She asked hesitantly after a moment.

"Yeah, Princess?" Chat asked, munching on his Stromboli again.

"How do you know me?" Marinette asked. Chat stopped chewing with his mouth full of food. After a moment, he resumed and took a moment to chew and swallow.

"Marinette, I don't think it's a good idea...I've already probably told you too much." He said. Marinette nodded.

"I kinda just want to know who's behind the mask." She said. Chat smirked.

"I thought I was supposed to be the curious one." Chat said with a chuckle. He then paused and looked around briefly. "I'm surprised tomato head isn't here yet." He mused.

"Maybe he won't be coming tonight." Marinette said.

"We can only hope, Princess." Chat responded.

"Hey, he's not so bad." She responded. Marinette then bit her lip. "Chat...I, um...I know you don't want to talk about it, but I need to know. H-how has Alya been doing?" She asked. Chat looked at Marinette, his normally bright, joking eyes were heavy with emotion.

"Alya...she's not the same as she used to be. Since the fire...well, she's isolated herself. She follows Ladybug's crimes and has been reporting about my accomplishments, but she doesn't hang out with anyone from her school anymore." He said.

"Not even Nino?" Marinette asked.

"Marinette...you really...you affected her. I'm not saying that you need to tell her, but she hasn't done well." Chat said. He then looked away and Marinette realized he wasn't telling her everything.

"Chat…" She said to prompt him to continue.

"I'm sorry Princess. It's just that she's been taking a lot of risks." He said.

Marinette nodded. She realized how selfish she'd been over the months. Of course her death would be difficult for Alya. They were best friends. Marinette worried her bottom lip as she thought about what she could do to help her friend.

"You don't need to tell her if you don't want to, Princess." He said.

"I lied to you." Marinette didn't know why she said it. Chat tilted his head and stared at her. "I'm afraid of what she'd do if she knew. It's why I haven't told her. I know that she wouldn't endanger me. That was just an excuse." Marinette said quickly.

Chat smirked. "I knew that, Princess." He responded before taking his last bite. He swallowed and then sighed. "I guess it's time for me to patrol." He added.

Marinette nodded as Chat got up. Marinette followed him. "B-be careful." She said. Chat turned with a smirk and reached down to bring Marinette's hand to his lips for a gentle kiss.

"Always, Princess." He responded with his lips still pressed gently to her hand before he lept backward and twirled into a fancy roll before his staff extended and he vaulted into the night.

Marinette stared after him, watching him run along rooftops until she couldn't see him anymore. It was at that moment that she realized she no longer minded him coming to her apartment. In fact, if she was honest with herself she would admit that she actually looked forward to seeing him. "Tikki…" Marinette trailed off as she heard a knock at the door to her apartment. She waited for Tikki to go back to her hiding place before she went to the door. She looked through the peephole in the door and saw Nathanaël. She was about to open it when she realized he wasn't alone.

Someone was standing just outside of her range of vision. Marinette had just caught the briefest glimpse of their hand before it left her sight. Marinette glanced at the lock to see that the door wasn't locked. She silently cursed, knowing that she couldn't lock it without Nath and the other person in the hallway knowing.

"Tikki" she hissed as she rushed to her room as quietly as she could. "Tikki, someone's in the hallway." She closed the door as quietly as she could behind her, hoping to convince Nath and the other person that she wasn't there. Tikki had come out of hiding and looked like she was about to speak when Marinette spoke first. "Phase through the wall and see who it is." She said.

"Marinette?" She heard Nath call through the door as Tikki nodded and phased through the wall. She was only gone for a moment, but when she came back, her eyes were wide.

"Marinette, he brought Rena Rouge!" Tikki said urgently.

"What?" Marinette asked worried. Her jaw then dropped as she realized who exactly was outside her door. "Tikki, Nathanaël brought Alya here?! And he's calling my name! Alya knows I'm here...and that I haven't told her I'm alive...for months!" She said, panicking.

"Calm down, Marinette. Would it really be so bad if Alya knew?" Tikki said. Marinette's eyes widened even further.

"What if she knows that I'm Ladybug? What if she's here to take me in?" She said, growing more panicked as Nath banged on her door again. "I've got to get out of here." Marinette said, grabbing her purse.

"I don't think that's the best…" Tikki started as Marinette interrupted her. Within moments, Ladybug flung herself from the window and swang away into the city. She fled as quickly as she could, not wanting to confront Alya again. She could only imagine how Alya would react to all of the secrets Marinette had kept from her.

"Where's the fire, Bug-a-boo?" She heard the familiar voice as Chat started running alongside her.

"Just running" she responded shortly before jumping and swinging across a street.

"Where are you running to?" Chat asked playfully.

"Nowhere." Ladybug responded.

"You're getting there quite fast." Chat chuckled. Ladybug narrowed her eyes at the hero as she came to a stop on the nearest rooftop. Chat landed alongside her.

"I'm not hurting anyone right now. I'm just out for a run." Ladybug said.

"After last night, I figured you might lay low." Chat said. Ladybug shook her head and looked away from Chat.

"How long do I have before the police show up?" She asked, knowing that Chat likely contacted them.

"A cat's gotta have his secrets." Chat said with a Cheshire smile. Ladybug's eyes narrowed again.

"So, Bug-a-boo, how about it? Why are you running?" He asked.

"Needed some air." Ladybug responded.

"So you suited up all for some air?" He asked. Ladybug shrugged, not intent on telling him the real reason. "You and I both know that's not true, Ladybug." Chat said, taking a step toward her. Ladybug didn't know why, but she didn't back away from him.

"Maybe I'm running from Rena Rouge?" She suggested.

"That's more plausible." Chat said, coming closer still. He was a few feet away now. Closer than she would usually prefer and yet still far enough away that he didn't seem like a threat.

"What do you know about her?" She asked, hoping he knew more than what he'd told Marinette.

"Only that she's new and really doesn't like you." Chat said, taking another step toward her. He had officially invaded her personal space, yet she still did nothing about it. She just looked up at him.

"I figured that out, Kitty." She said, not moving from her spot. With the way Chat was looking at her, Marinette almost forgot she was wearing her mask. She assumed that was why she didn't feel alarmed when he raised his hand slowly. She parted her lips and moved toward him slightly...until she heard a clicking noise. She looked down to see that he'd placed a handcuff on her left wrist. She immediately moved to pull her hand away as he hooked the other cuff around his own wrist. "What the hell, Kitty?" She asked angrily as she tugged against the cuff.

"Sorry, Bug-a-boo, but after what happened the other night with that mugger, I can't just let you go." He said.

"You did last night." Ladybug responded.

"That wasn't on purpose. I was just trying to keep Rena from hitting you." Chat said.

"Chat, you don't know what you're doing!" Ladybug said as she continued to try to pull her hand away from him, only succeeding in pulling his arm toward her briefly. That was when it caught her eye. The ring, it was right in front of her, practically attached to her. She looked from the ring to Chat's eyes for just a moment before reaching to snatch it away from him.

"Ladybug!" He said as her fingers closed around the ring and she turned. She didn't want to see him. It just felt wrong. She tried to pull the ring from his finger without looking at him, but before she could he balled up his fist and pulled it suddenly toward him, pulling her off balance. "I won't let you cataclysm your way out of this." He said.

Ladybug's eyes flew open to see a determined look on his face. "I wouldn't waste my time with a cataclysm, Kitty." She said.

"Then why are you trying to take my ring?" He asked as he lifted his arm to keep her from being able to reach the Miraculous while also inadvertently pulling her closer to him.

"Hasn't your kwami told you anything? When combined, the Ladybug earrings and the Black Cat ring grant the user a wish." She said as her free hand flew in front of her to act as a makeshift barrier between them while her other dangled from the chain attaching the two of them.

She expected the hero to come back with a quip, but he was strangely silent as she looked up at him. "A-a wish?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes, a wish. For anything." She said. "The two combined give the user the ultimate power." She said.

"Sounds like a fairy tale, Bug-a-boo." Chat said.

"You can believe it or not. Doesn't matter to me." Ladybug said. She heard sirens in the distance. She sighed, knowing what she had to do. "Lucky Charm" she shouted as she threw her yoyo into the air. Chat wasn't fast enough to grab the key that fell, but he stretched quickly to pull her own wrist out of easy reach. Ladybug had already known that he would try to keep her from being able to use the key. She knew that she needed to distract him.

She glanced around briefly before his lips lit up red with black polka dots. She leaned up to him, closing the gap between them to push her lips against his without even thinking. She was just acting out of desperation. She felt him jump and gasp in surprise. She found herself wanting to stay and deepen the kiss, but she knew she had to go. As soon as his hand dropped in his shock, Ladybug broke the kiss and unlocked the cuff. She didn't bother taking the key and, instead jumped backward off the roof.

She swang and ran through the buildings, unsure if she was being followed. That is, until she heard a familiar shout that made her blood run cold. She glanced behind her as she landed on a roof near to her old school to see Chat was close behind her with black power radiating off of his hand. Ladybug pushed herself to run faster as she swung toward the school. She threw her yoyo at a window as she fell toward it and heard the glass shatter just before she fell through the open window, rolled, and then ran further into the building.

She ran for the locker room, using her yoyo to quickly get from the top floor to the ground floor. As she entered the room, she heard something heavy fall on the door behind her. Ladybug didn't hesitate as she ran to the only locker without a lock (I assume they're like the ones my school used to have where you provide the lock) which just so happened to be her old locker, opened it, and quickly got inside, closing the door behind her. She didn't even notice her earrings beep for a final time before a flash of pink filled the tiny space.

"Tell me you have cookies." The kwami said as she landed in Marinette's hands. Marinette quickly stashed Tikki in her purse after shushing the kwami. Luckily for her, she did have cookies in her purse. Within moments, Chat came in through a window.

"I know you're in here Ladybug. There's no way out now that your kwami will have run out of energy." He said. "You might as well come out." He added.

Marinette held her breath as he walked by her locker. She heard his ring beep and realized he must have used his cataclysm when he was chasing her. She waited anxiously as she knew he would have to leave before his Miraculous ran out of power. After all, she assumed he blocked the exit since he was so sure that she was in the locker room.

"Come on, Ladybug." He said after a while. "Come out here and we can talk." He said. Marinette stayed rooted to her spot. She tried not to even make noise while she breathed. She heard Chat come closer to her locker.

She jumped as there was a sudden bang on the locker door. Followed by a softer noise. She could only assume that he'd hit the door. What she didn't know was that he'd also turned and slid down to the floor, leaning against the locker while he sat. Marinette waited, listening carefully. She almost wondered if he'd left before she heard his ring beep again. After three more beeps. She saw a green light around the edges of the locker door.

"Get me cheese." A raspy, annoyed voice said.

"Here you go." Chat's exasperated voice followed. "I could have sworn she came in here." He said. "I must be spending too much time with my Princess. I could only smell her." He said.

"That sounds really creepy, kid." The raspy voice responded after a moment.

"Shut up, Plagg." Chat responded. There was silence for a moment before Chat spoke again. "Plagg, Ladybug said something about using the miraculouses together to make a wish. What is that about?" He asked.

"The Ladybug And Chat Noir miraculouses represent creation and destruction. When combined, they give the user the ultimate power. And yes, it basically allows them to make a wish. But there are consequences." Plagg responded, sounding bored.

"What consequences?" Chat asked.

"What does it matter, kid? You're not going to be swiping her earrings." Plagg responded. "And she had better not swipe your ring."

"But Plagg, what if she does?" Chat asked.

"Look, just focus on what you can do, kid. You don't need to worry about that ultimate power stuff." Plagg responded.

"I guess you're right." Chat said hesitantly.

"So, you blocked us in." Plagg said. Chat audibly sighed.

"What was I supposed to do? I thought I had her penned in. All of the lockers have locks on them. There's nowhere for her to hide." Chat said. There was then a pause. "Unless…" He said and she heard him shift. Marinette looked down at Tikki, worried, and saw the kwami nod. "Plagg, claws out." She heard at the same time as she said, "Tikki, spots on." The door to the locker opened just as their transformations were completed and Ladybug burst out of the confined space, startling Chat.

"Nice of you to open the door, Kitty. Guess you're a gentleman." She said as she dashed far enough away from him to throw her yoyo. She wrapped it around one of the beams on the ceiling and tried to swing out of the window. She was blocked when Chat's staff extended vertically right in front of her.

"You didn't think you could get out without me _spotting_ you, did you Bug-a-boo?" Chat asked with a wide smirk. Ladybug glared at him as she collided with the pole and grabbed onto it with her unoccupied hand. Her idea had been to take the weapon from Chat. He apparently had a different idea as the staff collapsed once she had a tight grip, bringing her right down to the smirking hero. "Thanks so much for dropping in." He said as Ladybug groaned in exasperation.

"Could you at least take this seriously?" She asked, annoyed.

"Am I bugging you, M'Lady?" Chat asked as he reached for her and Ladybug did a quick backflip to get away from him.

"In fact, you are." Ladybug responded before moving to jump to the top of the lockers. Chat followed her with ease.

"Maybe you're just bugging out from that kiss earlier." He said as he landed in front of her and crossed his arms. Ladybug's face instantly heated in a blush.

"I didn't...it didn't…" She said, flustered. Chat took a step toward her, but Ladybug quickly launched her yoyo across the room and followed after it. Once she was far enough away from him, Ladybug tried for the window again. Chat tried to block her, but Ladybug managed to slip past him.

She sprang off of the sill of the window that was still open from Chat coming into the room and used the yoyo to swing up to the roof of the school. She glanced through the skylight and saw the damage Chat had caused. A large section of the second floor walkway and been caved in and was laying in a heap of rubble. Chat was on her heels, though and Ladybug didn't have a chance to think about what she could do. "Nowhere to go, M'Lady." Chat said. "Nowhere that I won't follow at least." He added.

"Lucky Charm" Ladybug shouted.

"This again?" Chat asked as the valentine fell into Ladybug's outstretched hand again.

"Really, Tikki? You couldn't give me something helpful?" She said, frustrated.

"Aw, M'Lady. Fur me?" Chat said with a smirk that had been absent the last time he'd seen the valentine.

Ladybug glared at him as she took a step away. "At least this'll get some use." She said, glancing through the window again. "Miraculous Ladybug" she shouted, throwing the valentine back into the air before sprinting to the edge of the roof as a swarm of ladybugs swept into the school to fix the destruction. "Try not to make too much of a mess next time, Kitty." She shouted as she dove off of the roof and started swinging through the city.

She realized her mistake after the first beep of her earrings. There was no way she would make it back to her apartment before the transformation wore off. She picked up speed, hyper aware of the black form that followed her through the streets. After the third beep, she frantically looked around before seeing an entrance to the railway. She quickly slipped down the steps. Luck was on her side as a train had just arrived. She slipped into the mostly empty train.

"Off" she shouted angrily at the passengers who didn't need to be told twice. Her earrings beeped a fourth time as the doors shut, Chat just barely didn't make it and pounded a fist on the door as the train started to move. Ladybug saw the hero rush back to the steps and use his staff to vault up to the street before Ladybug's view was obstructed. Ladybug ran to the end of the train and used her yoyo to break the window on the back door. She dove through the opening as her earrings beeped again, using her yoyo to swing off of the tracks and onto the small maintenance walkway.

There she transformed back into Marinette and caught her exhausted kwami. "Sorry I don't have more cookies, Tikki." She said as she placed Tikki back in her purse to sleep. Marinette then walked back to the crowd that she'd made in the previous station and joined the throng of people with her head down, hoping this train would take her close to her apartment. Her luck held true and soon she exited the station that was a few blocks away from her apartment.

Marinette assumed that Alya and Nathanaël had left her apartment already as it had been a long time. She wasn't surprised when she made her way up to her floor and didn't see two people outside of her door. She made her way to her door slowly, worn out from the day and opened the unlocked door to stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes were wide as she and the heroine in front of her stared at each other in shock. Neither moved or said a word as they stared.

"I, uh, I hope you don't mind. The door was unlocked and...well, Rena wants to help you." Said the redhead that Marinette hadn't even noticed.

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Sorry it took so long to get it out. Hopefully it being extra long will help make up for that.

Ddkeac: will do, glad you liked it.

DarkBat666: Don't be afraid to share your theories. I'd be happy to see what you think. I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope you liked this one, too. And Alya is not going to figure it out, but Chat will near the end of the story...and he won't really have time to deal with it.

Plasmadom: I'm glad that you liked it. Hopefully you continue to like the story as it goes on.

Emmaleewhittaker: I hope the story continues to be a wild ride for you. And yes, jealous Chat was fun as heck to write.

Lily-Codie19: Ask and ye shall receive. The Alya's going to feel quite hurt. It wasn't really real for her until Marinette walked in.

Anne Camp aka Obi-Quiet: I'm glad that you like it so far.

mayuralover: I would love to tell you that you shouldn't worry, but...well *looks up at looking ax*. Should only be a few more chapters, though….if everything goes to plan.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Because of this, you get an extra long chapter. Hopefully that'll tide you over until the next (final) chapter. A lot happens in this one...a lot of things that you probably won't like. So, just a fair warning. And now we begin.**

Rena ran along the rooftops, looking for Ladybug and thinking about her experiences over the last few days. Everything had changed when she found the box in her book bag.

 _Alya was walking to the school late. She had been following Ladybug's movements throughout the week since Ladybug paid her a visit. She knew that Ladybug was going after the bank, but she didn't know why. It unsettled her. She wanted to know what Ladybug was up to since she found out that Ladybug was looking into Marinette's death._

 _Alya couldn't help looking at what used to be Marinette's house as she thought about her friend. It hadn't taken the city long to tear down what remained of the bakery. Nothing had been built in its place, though. It was just an empty space. Alya stopped walking and turned fully to the non-existent building for a moment._

 _When she turned to continue into the school, she ran into an elderly man. "Are you alright?" She said worried as he started to fall and her hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and steadying him._

" _I'm perfectly fine." He said with a small smile._

" _I'm sorry." Alya responded almost robotically._

" _It is fine. You should probably get into the school." He said. Alya looked at the building and then back down at the old man. She nodded solemnly._

" _Right. Thank you. Sorry for running into you." She said. She started making her way into the school. By chance, she looked back at the older Chinese man to see him stumble. Alya rushed back to him. "Are you sure you're alright, sir?" She asked as she helped him up._

" _Yes" He said with a knowing smile. "I will be just fine." He added._

 _Alya nodded and left him to go into the school at his insistence. She made her way to Miss Bustier's classroom._

 _As she was pulling out her books, she saw it. The little unassuming box was nestled into her bag. Alya didn't know why she didn't reach for the box, but was thankful later that she didn't. Once she was home, she opened the box curiously._

 _A bright light made her drop the box to shield her eyes. Then she heard a voice. "Hello, I'm Trixx." Alya looked at the small fox creature in surprise. Trixx went on to explain that Alya had been chosen by the Great Guardian. "You need to stop Ladybug. The Guardian said that his kwami has felt that she's been becoming more unstable recently." Despite this statement, Trixx didn't appear to be too impressed with Alya's methods over the last few days. He often commented that Alya needed to be more careful with her secret identity, but she didn't care. She had one mission._

Rena caught sight of a familiar redhead walking on the street and slowed to follow him. She thought about how Ladybug had saved him and how he'd encountered her before as well. She followed him for a short while, keeping an eye on him. After a few blocks, it became apparent that he was going somewhere specific. From what she knew about Nath, he had no reason to be in this part of town. This was when Rena realized that they were in the same area as they were the other night when she got Nath down from a roof...after he was saved by Ladybug. Her eyes narrowed as she jumped off of the roof and landed swiftly behind him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, startling the boy.

"Rena. You scared me." He said as the heroine's eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing? Are you looking for Ladybug?" She asked.

"What? No! Why would I be looking for Ladybug?" Nath asked.

"You seem to keep bumping into her. And now you're in an area of the city that you normally wouldn't be in. Your home isn't around here and neither is the Louvre. What are you doing here?" Rena asked.

"How do you know where I live?" Nath responded.

"That's not important. What's important is that you seem to have a connection to Ladybug. What is it?" She demanded.

"I swear, I don't know." He said, raising his hands and backing away as Rena moved forward.

"I'm only going to ask one more time. You'd better answer honestly. What are you doing here?" Rena demanded, becoming visibly angry.

"I'm visiting a friend." Nath responded.

"What friend?" Rena asked through clenched teeth, sure that Nath was talking about Ladybug.

"I...she told me not to say. She's in danger." Nath responded.

"Let me guess, her name starts with an L." Rena said angrily.

"No, it's not Ladybug!" Nath said. "She's in trouble and needs to lay low is all." He responded.

"Is it one of your classmates?" Rena asked. The fox was becoming impatient.

"Yes...no...she...it's complicated. She doesn't go to school anymore, but she had been in my class." He said. Rena's eyes narrowed.

"Don't lie to me Nathanaël. I know more about you than you know." Rena responded, trying to think through all of the people who go to her school. She couldn't think of anyone in their class who'd stopped going to school.

"I'm not lying." Nath responded.

"When did she stop going to school then?" Rena asked, hands on her hips.

"During the last school year." Nath responded. Rena's eyes narrowed.

"I know that no one from your class has dropped out in that timeframe." She growled.

"It's true. She's been in hiding." He said.

"You know who did stop coming around about a year ago, though she's not exactly in hiding?" Rena mused her obvious leading question.

"She's not Ladybug!" Nath responded angrily. "I can't tell you who she is." He said.

"And why not?" Rena responded.

"It could put her in danger." Nath said.

"Telling a hero of Paris about your 'friend' would put her in danger? Sounds like she's a criminal." Rena responded.

"She doesn't know who she can trust. She's only confided in Chat and me." He said, trying to back away from Rena as she took a few steps forward until Nath's back was flush against the building behind him.

"You don't think she'd be able to trust me?" Rena asked.

"It's not my choice." Nath said. "She doesn't want anyone to know." He responded.

"What harm could I do?" Rena asked, her eyes narrowed.

"My guess is quite a lot." Nath said, trying and failing to sink into the wall behind him.

"If you don't tell me who she is, I'm going to have to assume it's Ladybug. If you really mean so much to Ladybug, then you'd make great bait." She said.

"I told you, it's not Ladybug." Nath said.

Rena's eyes narrowed for a moment. Nathanaël didn't seem like he was going to crack. Rena reached out and grabbed his wrist before pouncing to the rooftop of the building. "If you won't tell me, I guess I'll just have to keep you here. If I'm right, Ladybug will come for you." Rena said as she set him down on the rooftop before swiftly checking the only roof access to find it locked. She smirked as she sat down to wait.

"I need to go. I really need to." Nath said.

"You know how you can get out of this, Nathanaël." Rena responded.

"I really can't tell you who she is." He said as Rena tried to piece together the information he'd given to her. It didn't add up.

"I could help her. She already has help from one hero of Paris, more would be better." She said.

"You just kidnapped me and are holding me against my will!" Nath said indignantly.

"Oh, you're fine." Rena said, dismissively waving her hand. "It's not like I'm dangling you off of the roof like your little friend would." She said.

"I told you, she's not Ladybug!" Nath said, becoming agitated.

"Then who is she?" Rena asked.

"She told me not to tell anyone. She doesn't want anyone to know. Her parents were killed and she's afraid that someone will kill her too if the news that she's alive gets to the wrong people." Nath replied angrily. Rena stopped, her face falling in shock as the pieces snapped together in her mind.

"Marinette." She breathed and Nathanaël's eyes widened.

"I didn't say…" he started.

"Marinette's alive?" Rena asked in a small voice, not quite focusing on the redhead in front of her.

"That's not what I…"

"Where is she?" Rena asked.

"I didn't say it was Marinette." Nathanaël said.

"No one else in your class isn't there anymore. No one else lost their parents." Rena responded. "Where is Marinette? I can help her." Rena insisted.

"I can't tell you anything. Marinette...died...last year. I wasn't going to see her." He said.

"I won't hurt her, Nath. I know how much you cared for her and how much you want to protect her. I can help." Rena said, her eyes pleading with his.

"It's not…" Nath started.

"Quit lying to me, Nathanaël." Rena said in a strong voice, though her eyes still begged him for the answer.

"Marinette...I'm sorry, but she…" he started as he looked at Rena. "Even if it is Marinette, I can't tell you. I don't know what you'll do." he said. "I don't know who you are or if I could trust you." he finished.

"What can I do to make you trust me?" Rena asked, desperate.

"I...I want to know who you are." Nathanaël said. Rena just tilted her head at him.

"Can't do that, Red." she responded. "What else can I do?" she asked.

"I don't know, Rena. I just don't trust people that I don't know." he said.

"What if I can prove that I know you?" she asked.

"How would you prove that?" he asked. Rena crossed her arms and put a confident smile on her face.

"I know you fairly well when I'm not in mask. Why not ask me a few questions? I'm sure that you'll be pleasantly surprised." Rena said. After their freshman year of high school, Nath had hung out with Nino more frequently in an attempt to get closer to Marinette. However, he'd never managed to ask her out. Still, that closeness allowed Alya to know a lot more about him than she would have otherwise.

Nath sighed. "Fine." he said and thought for a moment. "What religion do I practice?" he asked.

"Come on, Nathanaël, you can make more difficult questions than that." Rena said.

"Answer the question." he responded. Rena rolled her eyes.

"You're Jewish." she said in an almost bored tone.

"Who did I go on my first date with?" he asked.

"Rose. The two of you never went on another one after that." Rena responded.

"Who did I draw on my 13th birthday as a way to attempt to…"

"Marinette" Rena cut him off. "You were trying to ask her out and Chloe ripped the drawing out of your sketchbook and made fun of you for the rest of the day." she added.

"Am I right-handed or left-handed?" he asked.

"Ambidextrous, but you prefer your left hand for drawing with your tablet." Rena said.

"Favorite color?" he asked.

"Green" she responded instantly.

"What did I draw yesterday?" Nath asked.

"You drew Chat Noir and Ladybug fighting. From the other night." Rena responded, having seen the drawing this morning.

"Whoa." Nath responded.

"I told you, I know you very well. Now, do you trust me?" Rena asked. "Do you trust me enough to tell me where Marinette is?" she asked.

"I...promise me...promise me you won't hurt...my friend." he said.

"I promise that I would never hurt Marinette." Rena responded.

Nath regarded her carefully for a moment. "I...you'll need to get me back down to the ground. I can't get to it from here." he said cautiously. Rena nodded, grabbed Nathanaël around the waist and lept from the building. Once back on street level, Nath looked around.

"Don't even think about trying to run. I'm a lot faster than you are." Rena stated.

"Of course." Nath responded.

"I really do want to help her." Rena stated as Nathanaël started to walk in the direction he'd been previously walking.

"And how would you do that?" Nath asked.

"I'll hunt down Ladybug. She has something to do with Marinette's parents' deaths. I just know it." Rena responded.

"You think Ladybug killed them?" Nathanaël asked, surprised as he stopped in his tracks.

"No. I don't think she killed them. But I do think that she's dangerous and that she knows who did it. If I take her down, I not only will make Paris safer, but I'll be able to figure out what she knows." Rena responded. Nath nodded as he started to walk again. As they neared Marinette's apartment building, Nath and Rena saw Chat Noir jump out of a third story window and twist into a barrel roll before vaulting into the night.

"Great. I won't have to deal with that guy now." Nath said.

"So, Chat really does know Marinette." Rena said before looking at the still open window. She and Nath quickly made their way into the building. Rena carefully hid beside the door as Nath knocked. She could hear a soft rustle of movement past the door, but that was all her heightened senses gave her.

"Marinette?" Nath called as he knocked again, resigned to the fact that Rena knew who they were there to see. Rena heard a little more rustling behind the door and then silence. "It doesn't normally take her this long to answer. I...uh...I hope she's alright." he said. He glanced at the door handle. "I'm...I'm sure she's alright." Nath added as if he was trying to convince himself. Rena shook her head and reached forward and gripped the doorknob. To her surprise, the door opened easily. She looked around the abandoned apartment. It was too small for Marinette to be hiding somewhere. "I, uh...guess she's not here." Nath said, looking expectantly between Rena and the door.

"We'll wait. She has to come home sometime." Rena responded. The two entered the apartment and waited impatiently in silence for Marinette to return. When she did, Rena just stared, surprised when Marinette stared back.

"I, uh, I hope you don't mind. The door was unlocked and...well, Rena wants to help you." Nath said from beside Rena on the couch. Rena's reflexes caused her to act faster than Marinette. As Marinette made to launch herself angrily at the red-headed boy, Rena jumped up and pulled her into a hug.

"What part of don't tell anyone did you not understand?" Marinette shrieked, trying to get out of Rena's grasp. Rena held tight, still not quite believing that Marinette was alive. She had guessed that Marinette was alive. Nathanaël had practically confirmed it. However, seeing and feeling Marinette was completely different. It was real.

"You're okay. You're here. You're alive." Rena said. Part of her was upset. A small piece was jealous that Nath and Chat knew that Mari was alive before she did. However, the vast majority of her was just thrilled that the struggling girl in her grasp was there.

"Let go." Marinette said, pushing against Rena with all her might. Rena didn't move. The scene looked much like a small child holding a cat that struggled to get away. "I have a tomato to squash." Marinette added angrily when Rena didn't let go.

"I didn't mean to, Mari. She practically forced it out of me. But she could help you." Nath said, trying to reason with the struggling woman.

"Marinette, if I let go, I need you to promise not to kill Nath." Rena said with a giant smile plastered to her face. Marinette glared at Rena.

"You know I won't kill him." She said through clenched teeth. Rena's smile grew.

"Don't hurt him too badly." She said as she let go of the petite woman. Nath stood from the couch and took a tentative step toward Marinette. Meanwhile, Marinette glared at him.

"I figured that she could help you like Chat's been doing." He said.

"It's my choice who I tell. I don't care who you think can help." She said before taking a quick step toward him to close the gap and raising her hand to slap him. Rena intervened again by stepping in the small space between the two teens.

"Nath, I think it would be best if you left. Give her some time to cool down." Rena said as Marinette glared at the fox-themed superhero.

"O-okay. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow Mari. I really am sorry. But I do think she can help." He said before shifting around the two girls. Marinette glared at him until he shut the door to her apartment. She took a few quick steps away from Rena.

"He's trying to help." Rena said after a moment.

"He was out of line. And where do you get off thinking that you can just show up here? I clearly didn't want people to know!" Marinette said angrily.

"You know, you can be really blind sometimes, Mari. Nathanaël has been trying to help you. Chat has been trying to help you. I would have been trying to help you before now, but you wouldn't let me even know you were alive." Rena responded. Suddenly, her anger bubbled up. "I've thought you were dead for almost a year. A whole year! And you could have let me know at any time! You could have let anyone know! I know dozens of people who would have dropped everything to help you. But what do you do? You hole up in a rundown apartment to, what? Look at bank statements all day?" She said angrily as she grabbed a statement from Marinette's couch. "And you wonder where I get off, girl? I don't think so. You have a lot to answer for." Rena responded.

Marinette regarded the heroine for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, suddenly ashamed. "I...I couldn't…" she started.

"Bull!" Rena said angrily. Marinette backed away with a flinch.

"Al-I...I…" Marinette couldn't bring herself to speak as she remembered who was under the mask. Rena crossed her arms over her chest and waited. "W-when my parents died I...wasn't there...to help them. I couldn't save them. I've had to live with that while I try to figure out who killed them and why. I c-couldn't…" she paused, feeling tears threaten to form. "I couldn't tell...anyone. I couldn't handle…" she took a shaky breath before continuing "...knowing that people would know...that I didn't save them." She said.

Rena's expression softened as Marinette struggled to keep herself from crying. "Marinette, no one expected you to save your parents." She said calmly as she rested a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault." She added. Marinette shook her head.

"You don't understand." She said.

"I know, you snuck out. Nath told me while we were waiting for you to get home." Rena said. Marinette regarded her cautiously for a moment. "It's still not your fault." She said.

"I could have helped them if I had been there." She said, steeling her face.

"There are a lot of people who could have helped them if they'd been there, Girl." Rena responded.

"None of those people are me, Al-Rena." Marinette almost slipped.

"Hindsight is 20/20. There was no way for you to know there would be a fire. You can't protect everyone." Rena said, putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Where did you go anyway?" Rena asked.

"I went out for a walk. When I came back…" Marinette trailed off. She moved away from Rena and sat down on the couch, putting her arms around herself.

"It's okay, Girl. You don't have to tell me." Rena responded. She then hesitated. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were alive? I understand not telling everyone, but you didn't even tell your closest friends." She said.

Marinette regarded the heroine warily for a few moments. "Because I was dead." She said simply. "I had nothing. I was nothing." She added.

"You still had friends who would have backed you up in a heartbeat." Rena replied.

Marinette shook her head. "Not with what I wanted to do. Rena, I've been trying to figure out who had my parents killed for months. Chat's been helping me for the last month. Even he doesn't know what I want to do when I get to the bottom of this." She said.

"You want revenge." Rena said simply and Marinette looked up at her. Both girls had unreadable expressions.

"I guess, yes. That is what I want." Marinette responded. Rena nodded.

"Once I bring down Ladybug, we can find out what she knows." Rena stated.

"Why do you hate Ladybug so much?" Marinette asked.

"She didn't save your parents. I thought she didn't save you. And then she turned her back on the whole city." Rena said. "She's becoming more dangerous. It's only a matter of time before she kills someone if she isn't stopped." Rena added.

Marinette looked down, recalling her actions from the night Nathanaël was mugged. She had tried not to think about her actions since. Truth be told, she was ashamed for how she'd acted. However, there was nothing she could do to change it. "Rena, maybe she just needs help?" Marinette said hesitantly.

"You always were trying to save everyone, Marinette." Rena said, looking on the black-haired woman with admiration. "Sadly, you can't." She added after a moment.

"So you really don't think she can be saved?" Marinette asked. It was a question she'd often asked herself in the months after her parents died. Was she really able to be redeemed?

"No, she can't. We have to face that fact, Marinette." Rena said, sitting beside her old friend. Marinette just nodded, solemnly. The two sat in silence for what felt like hours. "I'm going to need to patrol. You never know when Ladybug will come out." She said, finally breaking the silence. Marinette nodded again.

"When you do find her, please be understanding. We don't know what she's gone through." Marinette said, not looking at her friend.

"I'll try not to hurt her, but I have to keep her from hurting others." Rena said as Marinette nodded.

"Okay. Be careful." She said as Rena exited the apartment through the door. Marinette continued to sit on the couch, stunned before she realized that Tikki still needed to eat.

"Tikki?" She asked hesitantly as she opened her purse. She saw the kwami napping exhaustedly. She scooped the small red being out of the purse and took her over to the bed where to she laid her gently on a pillow before going back into the kitchen to grab cookies.

The raven haired girl laid next to her small companion. She couldn't help feeling lonely. Her best friend was unknowingly hunting her. The man who was supposed to be her partner was also hunting her. And both suddenly knew she was alive and were happy about it. More than ever, Marinette thought about sending Tikki and the earrings back to the great Guardian. However, she still knew that she wouldn't. No, she had other things to do.

"Tikki, I want to get this over with. I want to confront Mayor Bourgeois and his wife tomorrow regardless of whether Chat finds out why they did it. I can't keep dancing around Chat and Alya." She said to her sleeping friend. "So, sleep up." She added before getting under the covers herself.

—-

The next morning was a Saturday morning. Adrien had his visit to Chloe's dad's hotel planned for the last few days. After a quick photo shoot, he quickly got dressed in his regular clothes. The Gorilla drove him across town while Nathalie sat next to him, scrolling through his itinerary. "You'll have approximately one hour with miss Bourgeois before your bodyguard and I will pick you up for lunch with your parents." She said.

"I was hoping for a bit more time." Adrien responded.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. You have a busy day. After lunch you have another photo shoot and then your piano and Chinese lessons." Nathalie responded. "There isn't more time to add." She added. Adrien nodded.

"Okay, thank you, Nathalie." He said as they pulled up to the hotel. Adrien got out of the car only to have a blur of yellow and black jump at him. He managed to catch the flying girl before stumbling slightly. "Hi, Chloe" he said hesitantly.

"Adrikins!" She shouted even though he was well within earshot.

"Ow." He said, putting a hand up to his ear as he teetered slightly, about to lose balance.

"Please tell me you don't want to go into that stuffy file room like last time!" Chloe said in a huff as they started back toward the hotel.

"Actually, I was hoping I might have another peek at it?" Adrien said. "The accounting tutor that my father hired has been trying to help me, but I think I need more practice with actual records. The fake stuff just doesn't seem to cut it." Adrien said with a nervous laugh.

Chloe rounded on him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously as they entered the elevator. Adrien looked away and raised a hand nervously to the back of his neck before Chloe shrieked. "Adrikins! Are you wanting to go in there for time alone? You could have just asked." She said.

"What? No, I...Chloe I don't…" He trailed off as he read her look. "I just really need practice looking at actual financial documents. My tutor has gotten to insurance and I'm struggling with it. I figure your dad probably has a lot of insurance documents." He said.

"You can try to hide the truth all you want, Adrikins, but I'm on to you." Chloe said, growing uncomfortably close to the model who raised his hands in defense.

"O-okay, Chloe." Adrien said as the doors to the elevator opened. Adrien slipped past Chloe. "So, uh, the finance room?" He asked, clearing his throat. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Fine, come on" She said in an annoyed voice. Once they were in the room, Adrien immediately made his way to the file cabinets where the bank statements were kept.

"Do you know where the insurance statements are?" He asked.

"They're two drawers down, categorized by type. The combined policies are first." Chloe said, bored as she studied her nails. Adrien opened the drawer and started thumbing through the files until he found one from the company Marinette had found.

He discretely pulled out a piece of paper with the policy number written on it. To his surprise, the statement he'd found was the one for the policy he was looking for.

"12 Rue Gottlieb? Wasn't that Marinette's house?" He asked, scanning the statement. It was a combined policy. Chloe started to walk over, slightly interested as Adrien read. "Am I reading this right?" He asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes and snatched the paper from him. "I would think you'd be smart enough to read this, Adrikins. It was a combination policy. The house was insured along with insurance on the bakery and life insurance for Marinette and her parents." Chloe said reading the paper.

"How did your father have a life insurance policy on Marinette and her parents?" He asked.

"Daddy has releases written into all of his leases that gives him the right to insure anything and anyone on the property. It looks like he set each of them at a million euros." Chloe said matter-of-factly as she handed the paper back to Adrien.

Adrien looked over the document again, seeing the different coverages all wrapped up into the policy. "Chloe, why did Ladybug think you would know about the fire?" He asked slowly even though he was already putting the pieces together.

"How should I know?" Chloe asked with a roll of her eyes and a wave of her hand.

"Chloe, did your parents have them killed?" Adrien asked directly.

"That's ridiculous, Adrien. How could you even ask that?" She asked, genuinely angry.

"Look at this, Chloe. Someone thinks that there was foul play and your parents are the ones who were set to gain from the fire." He said, pointing to the document. "Who would be the primary suspect, Chloe? Who would be able to convince the police to not investigate?" He asked, gauging Chloe's reaction. "This looks bad, Chlo." He added, using her nickname as she still looked angry.

"My daddy wouldn't kill anyone." Chloe responded.

"I have to…" Adrien trailed off as Chloe's butler rushed into the room.

"Miss Chloe, you need to hide." He said quickly.

"What do you mean, Jean Francis?" Chloe asked. Adrien could see just a moment of frustration pass on the butler's face before he spoke again.

"Ladybug is here. We need to get you somewhere safe." Jean stated.

"Ladybug is here?" Adrien asked, surprised. Jean nodded. Chloe jumped toward Adrien while shrieking something about protecting her as Adrien dodged her and darted out of the room. Adrien pocketed the insurance statement as he ran. He rushed to the closest open room where he transformed after making sure the coast was clear. Before long, he was rushing through the hotel. "Where is Ladybug?" He asked staff urgently, who just pointed down the hallway. "Thanks" He said and then ran at top speed.

He slid into the room at the end of the hall, seeing Ladybug standing on Mayor Bourgeois's desk with her yoyo wrapped around the mayor and his wife. "You paid someone to kill them, didn't you?" She shouted.

"Chat Noir, help us!" André stared in a higher pitch than he normally spoke in.

"Ladybug, you've got to let them go." Chat stated, holding his staff at the ready.

"They killed my...they killed them, Chat." She said. "I need them to admit it." She snarled, pulling on the yoyo, making the cord tighten around the two wriggling forms.

"You need to let them go, Ladybug." Chat responded. "Even if they did kill the Dupain family, they should be held accountable through the legal system. You can't be judge, jury, and executioner." He said.

"Do you really think they'd be convicted? The police didn't even investigate!" Ladybug said angrily. "I should just toss them out the window. We're high enough that gravity would take care of the problem."

"Stop!" Chat shouted as Ladybug moved toward the window. He extended the staff and brought it down on her arms, making her drop the yoyo. He then hit her so that she would be pushed back away from the Bourgeois's. "Run" He said as the husband and wife untangled themselves from the yoyo while Chat kept Ladybug back.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked as the mayor and his wife rushed from the room. "You're letting them get away!" She exclaimed as she tried to rush forward for her yoyo. Chat held her back, using the staff to push her back to the wall.

"You can't just kill them, Ladybug! What would Marinette and her parents think?" He asked.

"Don't bring them into this. I'm doing all of this for them." She snarled as she attempted to push Chat away from her. With a burst of strength, Ladybug pushed Chat and his staff away from her.

"Take the shot" Chat heard from behind him. It sounded like Mayor Bourgeois's voice. Chat didn't have time to process the comment before he heard a strange clicking noise. Ladybug looked down at her suit for a moment, puzzled before following the wires that were connected to her with her gaze. Chat looked over his shoulder to see Officer Roger holding a taser standing next to Mayor Bourgeois. He looked back at Ladybug in time to see her pull the wires away from herself and drop them on the floor. The electricity had apparently been stopped by her suit. The noise stopped and Chat glanced back to see the two men's faces pale.

Ladybug's eyes narrowed. "Probably best to let me take care of this." Chat said as Ladybug attempted to dive past him for her yoyo. Chat's staff extended and he used it to knock the yoyo away from her before swinging the staff toward her like a baseball bat. As Ladybug slid underneath of the staff, Chat spun and kicked her in the chest.

Ladybug let out a shout as she fell backward due to the force of the kick. She got up quickly, though, in time for Chat to rush at her. He used the staff to form a vertical pole a few feet from the confused villain before swinging around it to kick her in the stomach again. "Chat, stop." She gasped.

"I can't, Ladybug. I can't let you hurt people." Chat responded.

"They can't just get away with what they've done. I can't be patient anymore, Chat. I know they did it, I just don't know why." Ladybug said. She then glanced behind Chat at where he knew her yoyo was.

"Don't do it." He said, but Ladybug didn't listen to him. She tried to dive past him as his staff collapsed and he brought it up from under her, knocking her back. "I said, don't do it." He said before turning his staff and extending it so that it would knock her back against the wall.

"Chat, I know you like Marinette. Let me do this." Ladybug said.

"Marinette wouldn't want this. She would want justice. She wouldn't want you to turn into a murderer." Chat responded.

"Marinette understands that there's no going back for me. I'm too far gone for that, Chaton." Ladybug responded. She stayed back near the wall as Chat stood with his staff at the ready.

"No one is too far gone." He said. "Just...give me your Miraculous and we can go our separate ways." He added.

"You want to let the woman who threatened my and my wife's lives go? What kind of hero are you?" The Mayor said from behind Chat.

"The kind that doesn't want anyone to get hurt." Chat responded without taking his eyes off of Ladybug. "Including you, M'Lady." He added. He stared into Ladybug's eyes for longer than he expected to. She started to raise her hands.

"Nonsense. She should be imprisoned for life for attempted murder." The mayor responded. Ladybug's eyes suddenly looked past Chat. Her eyes narrowed and Chat realized that the moment was gone. He had thought she was going to give him her Miraculous right then and there, however, her hands quickly clenched into fists.

"Out of the way Chaton." She growled as she tried to rush past him. Chat beat her back again, using the staff. He then pushed her struggling form back to the wall.

"You have to stop. I'm not going to let you hurt them." Chat said. He watched as a pained look crossed her face.

"I don't want to hurt you, Chat." She struggled to say.

"You're going to have to if you want to get to them." Chat responded. Ladybug looked conflicted and stopped trying to push him off. She looked at him and tears started streaming down her face.

"I know you wanted to help me, Chaton." She said. "I wish we'd have met sooner." She added. She then shoved Chat away with all of her strength. Chat skidded along the floor before hearing a familiar tune play behind him.

"Mirage" Rena shouted as Ladybug tried to cover her eyes while diving for the yoyo. Chat used his staff to knock it away again. "You're coming in, Ladybug."

"You don't know what you're doing Rena." Ladybug shouted. She looked around as the room appeared to spin and duplicate Chat and Rena images appeared.

"Whoa" Chat said.

"We have to subdue her." Rena said. "Before it wears off." She added. Chat nodded.

"I'll take the right." He said quietly, using his staff to snag the handcuffs from Officer Roger's belt. "You take the left." He added as Ladybug started trying to make her way through the gauntlet of imaginary heroes.

Chat and Rena both made their way toward Ladybug while their images moved around the room. Ladybug didn't know which pair were real. At least she hadn't known until Chat grasped her right wrist from behind and locked a handcuff around it while Rena grabbed her other wrist. Ladybug tried to resist, but the two heroes easily overpowered her strength. The images that Rena had conjured quickly disappeared as her necklace beeped.

"Gotta pounce. You okay to clean up, Chat?" She asked. Chat nodded.

"Stop. Chat, they'll kill me. You have to let me go." Ladybug said as Rena ran away.

"They won't kill you Ladybug." Chat said. "I wish this had gone some other way." He added.

"You don't understand. Chat, you can't let them see me under the mask. You can't!" She said.

"Ladybug, I can't just let you go. I don't even have a key." He said as Officer Roger made his way toward the hero that was restraining the struggling former heroine.

"Don't let him take me, Chat. Please, Chaton." Ladybug tried to pull away from Officer Roger and into Chat Noir as the former reached out and grabbed Ladybug by the elbow.

"You're coming with me, Little Lady." Officer Roger said, before pulling a struggling Ladybug from the room.

Chat turned to the Mayor. "What are you going to do to her?" He asked.

"We're going to lock her up, of course." Mayor Bourgeois said, though for some reason, Chat wasn't comforted by the statement.

"What was she talking about?" He asked.

"That's none of your concern. She's clearly delusional." Mayor Bourgeois responded.

"It was the money, wasn't it? You had insurance policies on the property, business, and the Dupain family." Chat said.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter." Chat said.

"I believe it does." He responded.

"You did have them killed, didn't you? You had them killed for money." Chat said hesitantly.

"Even if I did, there's no proof. So, there's no need to discuss it further. You should be proud of yourself, Chat Noir. You got a dangerous criminal off the street tonight." The Mayor responded, clapping his hand on Chat's shoulder, causing the hero to pitch forward slightly. "Now, run along and do whatever you do." He said.

"Did she use her lucky charm?" Chat asked as the mayor pushed him toward the door, even though Chat already knew the answer. He hadn't heard her earrings beeping.

"Oh dear goodness, no." The mayor responded.

Chat nodded as he allowed himself to be pushed out of the room only to come face-to-face with a teary-eyed Mrs. Bourgeois. "M…" Chat didn't even get out a word.

"We did do it." She said before sobbing. "We were struggling financially. The hotel wasn't doing well. It needed renovations and we didn't have the money to renovate. A-André said that he would make sure those poor people weren't there, that the insurance money would be more than enough." She sobbed. "I didn't realize they would be there." She added.

Chat stared at her, not having the heart to be cold toward her. "Come on, we should go to the police. Your statement would help to put things right." Chat said, placing a hand on her back as she started shaking her head.

"I-I can't. No one can know." She said.

"I know. And I have enough proof to force an investigation." Chat said. "It would be better for you to confess." Chat said.

"But André…" she started.

"Don't worry about your husband, Mrs. Bourgeois. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you." Chat said, seeing the fear in her eyes.

"I...can't. It won't do anyone any good for me to confess now." She responded.

"It will help their surviving family members. And it'll keep this from ever happening again to another family." Chat responded. Mrs. Bourgeois looked from Chat to the closed door behind him.

"He's not a monster. He didn't mean for this to happen." She said.

"Mrs. Bourgeois, I know you love your husband, but you need to do the right thing." He said. Slowly, Mrs. Bourgeois's eyes rested on the feline-themed hero and her head nodded. "Come on, I'll walk with you." He said. The two walked in silence. The police station was only three blocks away, but those blocks seemed to stretch on forever.

When they entered the station, a dispatcher came to the front desk. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Mrs. Bourgeois witnessed a crime and would like to make a formal statement." Chat said. Before he could say anything else, the dispatcher interrupted him.

"We know about the Ladybug attack." He said.

"This is a different crime. Also, I would like to be able to see Ladybug." Chat said.

"You have to stay outside the cell." The dispatcher stated. "It's back there" He said waving over his shoulder. "Come on Mrs. Bourgeois." He said, graciously leading her to an empty office.

Chat made his way to Ladybug's cell. She was leaning against the far wall of the cell under a small barred window to the outside when he arrived. He was surprised to see that she was still in her suit. "They haven't taken your Miraculous?" He asked, surprised.

Ladybug stared at Chat for a long while. He started to shift uncomfortably from foot to foot under her gaze. "They tried to take my mask off. When it wouldn't come off, they just locked me in here." She said, her voice was different than he'd ever heard it before. It was defeated.

"I really wish this could have gone another way, Ladybug." He said.

Ladybug nodded absently. "I wish I'd told you...so much." She said, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"What did you mean when you said that they would kill you? Why would they do that, Ladybug?" Ladybug looked up at him again.

"Y-you might understand if you could see my face beneath the mask." She said, making her way over the the bars that separated them. Chat didn't know whether to back away or not. "I just...Chaton…" she trailed off, looking into Chat's eyes.

His brow furrowed as he stared back. He didn't know why he felt like he'd betrayed her. "Yes, Ladybug." He said.

"I...I want you to call me by my name." She said.

"I don't know your name, Ladybug." He responded. He couldn't interpret the look that crossed her face. Slowly, she nodded.

"I've been trying to tell you, Chaton. I should have shown you weeks ago. Now...I have to hold this transformation for as long as possible." She said.

"You have nothing to worry about, Ladybug. You're in custody. They can't hurt you, let alone kill you." He responded.

"You don't know that. I didn't think they could kill my...the Dupain family and get away with it." Ladybug stated.

"They're not getting away with it. Mrs. Bourgeois is confessing right now." Chat said. Ladybug stared at him.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"Because I walked her here myself." He said.

"How do you know that's what she's telling them?" Ladybug asked, suspicious.

"She confessed to me." He said. "I don't think she wants to lie anymore." He added.

Ladybug looked past him briefly. "I don't trust her. I just have a bad feeling about this." She said. "Chat, you need to make sure that you keep yourself safe. Now that you know…" she trailed off, worry showing through her mask.

"I'm touched, Ladybug, that you care so much." Chat said with a smirk, but there wasn't the same twinkle behind his eyes this time.

"Of course I care. Chat, I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" she trailed off as Officer Roger approached.

"Chat Noir, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the suspect." Roger stated.

"Why?" Chat asked.

"We have reason to believe she murdered the Dupain family." Roger said.

"What?" Both Chat and Ladybug shouted.

"Can't have her talking to anyone before formally interviewing her now." Roger said.

"Wait, why would you think that Ladybug...Mrs. Bourgeois…" Chat started.

"Yes, Mrs. Bourgeois told us all about how Ladybug threatened her and her husband. First attacking their tenants, then going after their daughter and their financials." Roger stated.

"I knew you couldn't trust her." Ladybug mumbled.

"That's not what…" Chat started.

"It's fine, Chat. I'm dead anyway. Even if I did fool myself for a little while." Ladybug said, tears streaming down her cheeks. The statement caught Chat off guard. He didn't understand why it sounded so familiar. "Thank you for…"

"That's enough." Roger stated, stepping between them. Chat still heard Ladybug finish her sentence, though.

"...everything these last few weeks." Roger then pushed him away from the cell. Chat couldn't help going over what she'd said. It sounded so familiar. It irritated him that he couldn't quite figure out where he'd heard it from or why her demeanor suddenly changed around him. As Roger was leading Chat out of the police station, the hero caught sight of Chloe's mother. Roger quickly left the hero on the street to chase down the blonde woman.

"Mrs. Bourgeois." He called out, suddenly full of anger. The woman turned toward him. "Why didn't you tell them the truth?" Chat asked.

"What are you talking about? I told them exactly what happened, how Ladybug has been attacking us." Mrs. Bourgeois said.

"You know what you told me." Chat said, a look of regret passed over Mrs. Bourgeois's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Yes, I do know what I told you. Do _you_ remember?" She asked. Chat thought back. ' _No one can know.'_ The memory suddenly came back to him.

"You realized that people were looking into it. You're using Ladybug as a scapegoat." He said.

"You're clever...for a cat." She said before turning and starting to walk back to the hotel. Chat shook his head. He was in shock about how she could so nonchalantly accuse someone of murder when she knew they were innocent. He made his way to an alley and detransformed, knowing the Gorilla would be waiting and that Nathalie wouldn't be happy with him for being late. He checked to make sure he still had the insurance statement in his pocket.

He was already planning to tell Marinette about what he'd found out and dig through the statements again to find the one that showed the insurance payoff. They would take it to the police and demand a formal investigation. Now, though, he had to deal with the rest of his day. He rounded the corner, seeing the car and gulping audibly.

"You're late. Where did you go?" Nathalie asked sternly.

"Nowhere." He said. Nathalie regarded him for a moment.

"You've missed lunch. You're going straight to the photo shoot." Nathalie said shortly. Adrien nodded and hung his head slightly. The day went by quickly because he was so busy. At the end of it, he rushed to the kitchens as had become usual.

"Two coq au vin, ready to go." The chef said as Adrien entered the room. "One of these days, you'll have to tell me who I'm cooking for." The man said. Adrien smiled as he grabbed the bag.

"Thank you so much." Adrien said before he rushed from the room. He made his way to his room. After transforming, he tucked the bag into his belt as usual and vaulted through the city to Marinette's apartment. He was surprised when he had to open the window. "Marinette?" He called as he walked through the small apartment, putting the bag of food down on Marinette's counter.

Marinette, however, didn't appear. Chat sat down on the couch and waited impatiently for a few minutes. He had so much to tell Marinette and, while it was pretty bad that the Bourgeois's weren't going to be punished for their crime, they had confessed and given a reason. Chat even had proof of their motive in his pocket. He took the sheet out of his pocket, unfolded it, and looked at it again. He started to be able to understand what each part meant. He looked at the coverage on Marinette.

" _I'm dead anyway. Even if I did fool myself for a little while."_ Ladybug had said. Suddenly, the words had popped into his head as if trying to tell him something. As if on cue, another piece of conversation came to the forefront of his mind. _"But still, this is your safety." He had said. Marinette laughed. "The safety of a dead person. Funny." she replied._

His eyes widened. He thought back to his fight with Ladybug. He realized that she had never attacked him throughout the fight, only pushed him away to try to get around him. One other startling thing he realized was that she had been speaking about Marinette in a present tense. " _Marinette understands that there's no going back for me. I'm too far gone for that, Chaton."_ He has been too focused on what he was doing that he hadn't realized beforehand.

Chat's jaw dropped as he realized another thing that he hadn't before. Ladybug had been calling him by the name Marinette had given him. Marinette was the one who always called him Chaton while Ladybug would call him Kitty.

" _I...I want you to call me by my name." She said._

" _I don't know your name, Ladybug." He responded._

" _I've been trying to tell you, Chaton. I should have shown you weeks ago. Now...I have to hold this transformation for as long as possible." She said._

"I'm so stupid!" Chat shouted as he dropped the insurance statement. He rushed to the window and made his way through the city as quickly as he could. He rushed into the police station. "Is Ladybug still here?" He asked the dispatcher who nodded. "I need to see her." He said.

"Visiting hours are over even for superheroes." The man said.

"Just let me through." Chat responded.

"I can't." The man said. Chat let out a frustrated shout. He then remembered the small window to Ladybug's cell as he stormed out of the building. He rushed around to where he thought her cell would be. There were a row of barred windows high off the ground. He used his staff to peek through the first window.

"Ladybug" He said while tapping on the window. There was no response. He couldn't see anyone in the cell. He quickly moved on to the other windows. Through the fifth one, he finally saw the form of a person laying on the bed. "Ladybug" He said loudly as he tapped on the window. The individual rose from the cot in the room and Chat saw the red suit that fitted her body. She stood and stared up at the window, but made no move to get closer to it. Chat opened his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn't.

Ladybug just stared at him as if she was waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she nodded, though he didn't know why and sat back down on the cot. She looked down at her hands for a moment. She then started to raise them.

"No, don't take them off." Chat said, hitting the window to get her attention. If she took off the earrings then nothing would be keeping her identity hidden. He doubted that the police would withhold that information from Mayor Bourgeois.

Ladybug stood and, trying to make as little noise as possible, brought the cot toward the window. She stood on it to slide the window pane to the side. "Chat, you know who I am. I can see it on your face. It's over. I don't know what I thought I would accomplish with all of this. I don't even know why I've still been holding on to this transformation all day. It'll be over with soon and then you can get back to your life." She said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"I don't know. But you should take these." She said, a few tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "Tikki...Tikki likes cookies. And she'll probably be tired." She said with a sniffle as she took off her earrings. A pink light flooded the room briefly as the Ladybug costume disappeared leaving Marinette in the room. She reached her small hand through the bars, offering the earrings to Chat.

"What was that?" Chat heard a voice in the background.

"Hurry" Marinette said, shaking her hand. Chat's hand extended and she dropped the earrings into it.

"I can get you out. I have proof." He said.

Marinette stared at him with sad eyes for a moment. "I've gotta go." She said, hearing the guard coming closer. She quickly pushed the cot back to where it had been before and got back into it, pulling the blanket over herself. Chat ducked out of view as the guard reached Marinette's cell. After a moment, he peeked through the window again.

"I'll make this right, Mari." He said.

 **A/N:** Again, sorry for the wait. Hopefully the extra-long chapter makes up for it. This is the second to last chapter. I hope to have the last one up soon. It won't be as long as this one, but it will be in Adrien's perspective. To be fair, I have tweaked my plan for the ending. It won't be all-out sad, but it will be very bittersweet.

Rush Alias: She was thinking that, too.

Emmaleewhittaker: The marichat was a bit different in this one. Hopefully, you still enjoyed it.

ScarletRedSouls: Alya just had to intervene…

Mayuralover: To be fair, Nath does actually think that Rena will help Mari. How do you feel about Chat actually catching her?

Ddkeac: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one.

Guest: I hope you enjoyed the fight in this chapter since you liked the chat and bug chase from the last one.

Kyusta: I hope angry Mari didn't disappoint you.

Duke: That she has. She still views it as her mission to stop Ladybug, but she's less angry toward Ladybug now.

Avenger2003: I really, really wish that I could to longer, more frequent chapters. Sadly, at this point it's not possible for me. I'm in my last semester for my master's program coming up on the end of the year. So, I have papers, projects, and an internship to keep up with on top of normal work and being a mom to a 4 year old. I generally only have time to write on my breaks at work and even then sometimes I don't have time. I am glad that you like the story so far. And don't worry, there won't be any more Nathanaël in this story. I do hope to have the next chapter up soon, but don't know when I'll be finished with it.

DarkBat666: it does tone down Alya's anger a bit. I hope you liked this chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Just a quick warning. This chapter does depict a character death. Before this scene will be a line to signify where you need to stop reading if you would like to skip this section. Similarly, there will be another line at the end of the scene.**

Chat placed the earrings gently into his pocket before he rushed to Marinette's apartment. When he got there, he rifled through the old statements. After finding the correct one and snagging the insurance statement, he made his way back to his home. After slipping through the window, he let his transformation drop.

"Cheese!" Plagg demanded.

"You hardly did anything!" Adrien snapped as he made his way to his computer and scanned the statements to his computer to make sure he would always have a copy.

"I still need cheese." Plagg stated.

Adrien pulled Ladybug's earrings out of his pocket. "How am I supposed to let Tikki eat cookies?" He asked, confused as he stared at the earrings. "I mean, when I got you, you just popped into existence from nowhere. How do I get her out?" He asked.

"Well, I assume that it has to do with you not being the owner of the earrings." Plagg stated.

"So, I need Marinette to get her out?" Adrien asked.

"Not necessarily. Put them on." Plagg said in a bored voice. "Seriously, though, cheese." He said.

"You know where the cheese is, Plagg." Adrien replied, annoyed. His ears weren't pierced. He didn't know how he would be able to wear the earrings without piercing them. "I guess you'll have to wait until I get Marinette out of jail. Don't worry, though, you'll get lots of cookies." He said to the earrings.

"She can't hear you." Plagg called from inside the small refrigerator in the room.

"Shut up, Plagg." Adrien called, frustrated.

"Look, let's face the facts here, kid." Plagg said, coming out of the refrigerator and belching.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked.

"They're not just going to let her go, genius. Even if you prove the mayor was behind her parents' deaths she still robbed and threatened people. One might even call your lady love a terrorist." Plagg said nonchalantly. Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but Plagg continued. "It would've been best for you to just use your cataclysm to get her out." He added.

"I couldn't just break her out. Then she'd look guilty and I would be guilty, too." Adrien said. "We'd have to be on the run." He added.

"And exposing her identity did...what exactly?" Plagg asked.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked.

"I'm sure they will have seen her by now and will know who she is." Plagg said.

"It's the middle of the night! Why would they check her cell now?" He asked.

Plagg sighed. "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Adrien. They were investigating the light! They wouldn't just stop because they walked past her." He said. "To be honest, though, I'm surprised that you're not more worried about the Mayor knowing." He added.

"What? How would the mayor know already?" Adrien asked with wide eyes. Plagg, meanwhile, wondered what he did to deserve this specific moment.

"During your fight Ladybug dropped her yoyo." Plagg said, figuring that Adrien would understand.

"Okay?" Adrien asked. He didn't see the significance of the yoyo. In his defense, he was sleep deprived.

"...and she didn't pick it back up." Plagg continued still figuring that Adrien would figure it out. When he received a blank stare Plagg rolled his eyes. "...and _you_ didn't pick it up." He said. Adrien continued to stare at the small black being. "Adrien, what happens to your staff when the transformation ends?" He asked.

"It disappears." Adrien said, clearly not understanding what Plagg was getting at for a moment. Plagg knew the exact moment that it clicked for Adrien as his eyes flew wide. "Ladybug's yoyo would have been with Mayor Bourgeois when it disappeared!" He nearly shouted.

"Bingo. Knew you had it in you, kid." Plagg said as Adrien stood. "Oh no…" the small creature said before Adrien transformed. He, again, snagged the statements and earrings before vaulting out of the room. He traversed the city quickly and was soon back at the police station.

His first stop was the barred window to Marinette's cell. His eyes widened as he realized that it was empty. Quickly he rushed into the station. He slammed the statements down on the counter.

"Where's Ladybug?" He asked, expecting to be told, again, that visiting hours were over.

"You can quit coming here. She was officially pardoned by the Mayor." The dispatcher said. Chat's eyes widened.

"How would he have pardoned her so quickly? Doesn't that take a lot of paperwork?" He asked. The dispatcher shrugged.

"No idea." He said.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"I don't know, she left with the mayor about...ten minutes ago." The dispatcher stated nonchalantly.

"Didn't you realize who she was? And that she might be in danger?" Chat shrieked.

The dispatcher looked at him blankly. "...we have no idea who she was. Were we supposed to?" He asked. Chat let out a shout of frustration before rushing out of the building. He tried to focus. Where would the mayor take Marinette? Chat inhaled deeply. A familiar scent wafted into his nose. He recognized it instantly and made to chase after it. It was difficult for him to track the scent. He didn't even know where it was taking him until he was standing in front of the Grand Paris Hotel. His eyes narrowed.

He knew the Bourgeois used the 7th floor as their home. He didn't bother going through the entrance, not that the doorman would have been too keen on letting in a teenager in a cat suit even if he'd tried. He simply vaulted to the fire escape of their floor and tried to open the door. It was locked. Chat didn't want to waste time. He raised his hand and opened his mouth to initiate his power when the door burst open. "Come on, Kitty!" The high pitched voice said as a small hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him into the building with more strength than he thought the young woman should have.

"Chloe?" He asked as she started dragging him down the hall without an explanation. "I don't have time for this Chloe, I…"

"Do you want to save her or not?" Chloe demanded without missing a beat.

"What?" He asked.

"Ladybug? Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Chloe said, not bothering to look at the surprised hero. "Daddy brought her here a few minutes ago. Then I heard you." She said as Chat started walking in stride with her.

"Why aren't we running?" He asked.

"Because I couldn't drag you while running." Chloe stated before she let go of his wrist with a smirk and ran ahead of him. Chat had known that Chloe had never been the biggest fan of Marinette, but she had been devastated just like the rest of the class when the fire happened. Chloe ran up to a door and tried the handle. It didn't turn. She knocked on the door. "Daddy, open the door." She demanded.

"Not now, pumpkin." Mayor Bourgeois said from inside the room. This was followed by mumbles. Chat raised his hand again, but Chloe stopped him.

"Daddy, I need to talk to you now!" Chloe shouted.

—

—

"In a minute." Came a somewhat muffled reply. Then Chat heard screaming and a scuffle. He shoved Chloe out of the way and didn't think to use his cataclysm this time. He simply kicked the door in in time to see a wide-eyed Marinette fall from the very window she'd tried to send the Mayor and his wife out of earlier that day.

"Marinette!" Chat shouted as he dove across the room after her, but it was far too late, he realized as he followed her out of the window to see her already sprawled on the ground. He barely managed to use his staff to slow his descent. Once he was on the ground beside her, he hesitantly reached out to her, terrified of moving the hair away from her face and seeing the expression underneath.

With a shaking hand, he touched the hair, but then pulled back. He didn't notice the crowd that was forming. Slowly and shakily, he reached forward again and moved the hair away from her face. He couldn't breathe as he looked into her still, glossy eyes.

"M-Marinette?" He breathed, still not believing what he was seeing. It seemed so surreal that even though she was there he still couldn't imagine it. "Marinette." He said, placing a hand on her still shoulder. "No, no, no, no." He said when she didn't respond as he gently shook her. "Marinette, no." He said, a tear managing to streak down his cheek. "No.." He said, pulling her into his lap as he heard police sirens in the distance.

He started rocking her gently back and forth. His breath was ragged as he held her to his chest, ignoring how quickly the warmth went from her still form. He shook his head as he held her close and more tears fell. He let out a strangled cry, still not bothering to pay attention to the people around him.

"Y-you can't go. Not like this, Marinette. You can't leave me like this...again." He said, not looking at the body in his arms as he wept.

—

—

"Chat Noir…" Officer Roger called out hesitantly. Chat didn't hear him at first. It wasn't until the fourth or fifth time that he did actually hear. "Chat Noir, you need to put the girl down. Nice and slow." He said.

"I...I was supposed to protect her…" he trailed off.

"I'm going to need to take her." Officer Roger stated. Chat looked up at him with a fierce glare.

"No, you need to arrest the man who did this." He said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Chat." Officer Roger stated.

"Mayor Bourgeois pushed her out of a window!" Chat snarled. Officer Roger hesitated.

"Why don't you come with us. You can...carry her." He said. "But we should get her off of the street." He added.

"Aren't you going to investigate this? Or does it look like too much of an accident?" Chat snarled.

"We can't investigate with you here." Officer Roger said.

"I'm not leaving her." Chat said, clutching her closer to him.

"Come on, then. So that we can do our jobs." Roger replied. Chat sat for a moment, he wanted to look down at Marinette, but couldn't bring himself to do it again. Slowly, he nodded. He stood, holding Marinette's broken form as he made his way to an ambulance he hadn't noticed beforehand. He continued holding her as the EMTs tried to do their jobs. They didn't ask him to put her down. It was as if they knew what he would say beforehand.

Chat held her during the whole drive. He didn't realize that they were taken to a hospital. "What are we...?" He asked. "Is she...?" His eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, but no. She's going to be placed in the morgue here for now." The EMT by the back of the ambulance said. The two men in the vehicle with Chat shared a hesitant glance before the one at the back continued. "You'll need to...let her go now." He said.

Chat held her closer to him and glared angrily at the man. "There's nothing you can do for her now. I wish there was, but there isn't. All you can do is let us take her." the other one said softly. Chat continued to glare, but his grip loosened. Hesitantly, he managed to lay her down on the gurney. "We'll give you a minute." The man added before nodding to his coworker. Both left the back of the ambulance, leaving Chat alone with Marinette.

"I...I'm sorry, Princess. This is all my fault. I wanted to...I tried…" he started before he managed to force himself to look at her. Tears started pouring from his eyes. "Marinette, my Princess. I wish I could…" he trailed off as he reached into his pocket. "I wish…" he said, his gaze moving from her face to look at the earrings as he pulled them out of his pocket. He looked between the earrings and Marinette for a few moments. He opened his mouth to speak again when the doors to the ambulance opened again.

"We're sorry, but we have to go. You can come in with her if you want, but we need the ambulance." One of the EMTs said. Chat nodded. He left the ambulance with Marinette as hospital staff wheeled her to the elevator. They were silent as the elevator descended to the basement. Once there, they left him with her.

Chat didn't look at her, though. Instead, his eyes were locked on a surgical needle. It was packaged and neatly organized along with other equipment in the room that Chat didn't want to think about. Without hardly a thought, he grabbed the package and tore it open. He didn't even look at a mirror as he grabbed the needle with one hand and his ear with the other.

He had thought that it would hurt. To be honest, it probably did. He didn't notice, though. He didn't care. He had to get Tikki out of the earrings so that she would transform him and he would be able to fix this. It was the only think he could think about. Marinette couldn't just be gone. He couldn't let her be gone, not again.

Soon, he had two freshly punctured earlobes and slid the posts into place. A pink orb formed in front of him. "Tikki…" he started, but the small creature quickly put her arms up and shouted.

"Stop. Chat Noir, what are you…" she started, looking around the room. The small creature stopped speaking when her eyes landed on her chosen one. "Marinette?" She asked.

"I'm going to fix this." Chat said.

"No, you can't!" Tikki argued even as her own tears started to form.

"Like hell I can't. I know what these miraculouses can do together."

"Chat Noir, if you change this, something else will happen. The universe needs to stay in balance. If Marinette comes back, someone else will be taken in her place." Tikki said frantically.

"I don't care!" Chat said.

"Yes you do!" Tikki responded. "You just don't realize it." She said, knowing that she couldn't tell him what would happen if he made the wish. She knew it would devastate him.

"I never told her, Tikki!" He said through gritted teeth. "I can't let her be dead again, not when I can do something about it." He said. Tikki opened her mouth to speak again. "Spots on" he shouted, remembering that was what Ladybug had said before bursting out of Marinette's locker. Tikki was sucked into the earrings and Chat closed his eyes as he felt even stronger than before. After a moment, he looked down. His normally black suit was now a metallic purple color. "One wish, huh?" He said to himself, knowing that he probably wouldn't get multiple chances to fix this.

He was about to blurt out the first wish that came to his mind, but he took a step back. He knew he needed to be careful. He couldn't just wish her alive again. If he did, they'd be in the same situation as they are now. No, he had to make sure that this wouldn't happen again.

"I wish…" he started, looking down at Marinette. What had gotten them to this point? He retraced the steps. He had accepted the earrings. If he wished that he hadn't, she would be alive. However, she would still be in jail and would be found out eventually.

He could wish that he'd never handcuffed her. Then Rena would have done the job without him. He could have wished that he stopped Rena. Then Marinette would be a murderer. He continued thinking until he realized that he would have to go back to before she committed a crime. If he wished she wouldn't have committed that first robbery, she wouldn't have been a criminal. However, then she would have been on the streets, starving. He gulped as he realized what he needed to do.

" _If Marinette comes back, someone else will be taken in her place."_ That's what Tikki has said. That meant that three people would be taken. It was the only way. He didn't have any other options. If Marinette's parents had lived, she wouldn't have gone down the path that she did. He closed his eyes, hoping that she would forgive him if she even would ever know.

"I wish Marinette's parents had never died." He said, hoping he'd made the right choice. Suddenly, his eyelids felt heavy as if he couldn't stay awake.

When he did manage to open them, he was laying in his bed. His brow furrowed. Something felt wrong. He sat up, looking around the room. It still looked the same. He walked to his bathroom. His eyes widened when he saw his reflection. His hands flew to his face. It was far younger than it had been when he'd woken up so long ago. He noticed in the reflection that his ring was missing.

"Plagg?" He called, grabbing the naked finger. "What's going on? Plagg?" He asked. He started looking around the room for his ring when he heard a knock on his door. "Yes?" He asked.

"A-Adrien? You father needs to speak with you." Nathalie said. Her voice was shaky. Adrien slowly made his way to the door. When he opened it and saw Nathalie's face, he instantly knew something was wrong.

"What's going on? What's wrong, Nathalie?" He asked.

"Your...ahem...your father needs to speak with you. Right now." she said before turning. Adrien hesitantly followed her to his father's study.

Gabriel uncharacteristically came over to Adrien and gave him a strong hug. "Father! What is… what is going on?" Adrien asked.

"Adrien. I need for you to sit down." Gabriel said.

"What's going on?" Adrien asked as he sat down.

"It's your mother, Adrien. She's missing." Adrien's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"What?" He asked. He didn't understand what could be happening. "I…" then he realized. It was his wish. His mother was one of the three people who took the place of Marinette and her parents. He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"I know you had been looking forward to going to school next school year, but I don't think it would be the best idea now." Gabriel said.

Adrien's eyes widened. That's why he seemed so much younger. He _was_. "B-but Father!" He said. He was sick with himself that his mother was gone and he knew it was his fault. Knowing that he still wouldn't get to see Marinette was even worse.

"No, you will continue to be homeschooled. Until we know what happened to your mother, it's far too dangerous." Gabriel said.

"I want to go to school!" He said. "I...we'll find mom." He added, though he knew they wouldn't.

"You won't be going and that's final." Gabriel said. Adrien started to protest, but Gabriel held up his hand. "That's final, Adrien." He said.

The summer passed slowly. Adrien mourned for his mother, hating himself more than he thought possible. His father had focused on finding Emily, but Adrien knew it was futile. Adrien tried to convince his father to let him go to school each day, wanting to try to make the best out of the situation, knowing that there was no way to get his mother back. He didn't have his Miraculous let alone Ladybug's to even try to go about fixing this mess.

Finally, the first day of school started. Adrien hadn't made any progress with convincing his father to let him go to school. So, he did the unthinkable, something he'd never done without Plagg before. He snuck out of the house. He ran the entire way to the school. He was late, but that didn't matter to him.

As he arrived at the school, Nathalie and the Gorilla pulled up to the school and got out of the silver car. Adrien made to duck past them to run into the school. "Adrien, please reconsider. You know what your father wants." Nathalie said, causing the boy to stop and turn on the steps.

"This is what I want to do." He said, hearing someone groan on the sidewalk. His eyes widened as he looked over to see an elderly Chinese man on the ground. He'd known that things were different in this time for the simple fact that his mother and two other people were missing. He'd even noticed the absence of Chloe's mother even though she wasn't missing like his mother was. However, he didn't realize how other people would be affected. He rushed forward and made to help the man up.

"Thank you, young man." The man said. It was at that point that Adrien recognized the man. This was Master Fu. He had pretended to be Adrien's replacement Chinese tutor on a few occasions to try to help him with becoming Chat Noir. Adrien tried to focus on not showing that he recognized the man.

He thought back to the very first time he'd seen Master Fu. It had been his first day of school, but he'd seen the elderly man during his lunch period. He had been on his way to the car to go home to eat with his parents when he saw Master Fu attempting to cross the busy street. He'd rushed out to help without even thinking. It was only later that he'd realized that this act of kindness had been why he was granted his Miraculous.

Adrien turned back toward the school once Master Fu was safely back on his feet to see Nathalie and the Gorilla glaring at him. He walked back toward them. "Just want to go to school like everyone else. What's so wrong with that? Please, don't tell my father about all this." He said, adding the last part because he knew how his father would react. Adrien wouldn't be able to try to sneak out again if his father found out. Nathalie and the Gorilla led him to the car without a word.

It was while Nathalie was going over his history lesson that Adrien found out that she had told his father already about his attempted escape. As much as he tried to argue, his father was firm in his decision to keep Adrien home. He ran to his room as soon as Nathalie dismissed him. He laid on his bed. Not only was his mother gone now, but his father wouldn't be convinced to let him go to school. His father insisted that the world was too dangerous. As he lay there, he felt the ground start to shake. His eyes widened as he rushed to the front door. He saw a giant stone monster attacking the police.

He rushed back to his room and turned on the news, surprised to see Mayor Bourgeois making a statement about the monster. Bile crept up in the back of his throat as he saw the man. The news confirmed that Paris was being attacked by a super villain, something Adrien never thought would happen in real life. He then looked down to see a familiar box. "What's this doing here?" He blurted, opening the box to see his ring. Plagg formed in front of his eyes. It quickly became apparent that Plagg didn't recognize him.

Adrien decided to play along. He didn't want to admit what he'd done to the small being, knowing that Plagg wouldn't approve. So, instead he made a comment about Plagg being like a genie. When Plagg started flitting around the room, trying to find cheese, Adrien simply chased him. He tried to act like he had the first time he'd gotten his Miraculous. However, when Plagg started to actually tell him about his powers, Adrien became impatient and immediately transformed. He went out into the city in search of Marinette, knowing that she would probably be trying to find the stone giant. It was just how she was.

He was, however, surprised to see her sailing through the air toward him, screaming. They collided, her knocking him off of his staff, but managing to wrap her yoyo around both them and the staff to keep them from crashing to the ground. His heart leapt into his throat as he felt how close they were. "Well, hey there. Nice of _you_ to drop in." He said. After a short exchange, they made to go after the stone giant. Once they had it in the stadium, he realized that he was fighting along. "Where are you...partner?" He called, almost forgetting that she hadn't identified herself as Ladybug yet. He quickly realized that she was having self-doubt as he glanced up at her briefly before seeing that the goal post Stoneheart had thrown was flying toward Alya. He threw his staff toward the reporter, managing to deflect the attack that Stoneheart had sent toward her only to get nabbed by the stone giant.

He heard Alya encourage Ladybug and soon, she came to his rescue. However, he could still tell that she wasn't herself and realized that she might lose more confidence if he showed that he knew how to be a hero. He let her come up with the plan before suggesting they use their powers. He decided to show her his rather than use it as an attack. He didn't know what it would do to the stone monster and had realized that it may have been an actual person. So, instead he acted like he didn't know he only had one shot at using his power and used it on the goal post.

Soon, the fight was over and he was back at home. That was when the real surprise came for Adrien as he found out that there were multiple people being turned into Stoneheart statues. Plagg explained that this was because Ladybug didn't capture the akuma at the end of their battle. It was then that he realized he had a lot to learn about this new timeline.

The next morning, he snuck to school again. This time, he didn't let Nathalie and the Gorilla stop him when he got to the school. He had to meet Marinette. He just had to. He couldn't let go of the idea that they would eventually be together. He rushed into the school, but didn't see Marinette. He made his way toward his classroom when he saw Chloe. She rushed up to him and pulled him into a hug before a group of fans surrounded him.

They made their way to the classroom where Adrien introduced himself to Nino. He wasn't prepared for the cold reception he got from the boy. That was until he remembered how much of a distaste everyone had for Chloe. He then realized that Chloe was putting gum on the seat across the steps from his.

"Hey, what's that all about?" He asked, having a feeling he knew whose seat that was.

"The brats that sat here yesterday need a little attitude adjustment. I'm just commanding a bit of respect, that's all." Chloe said.

"Think that's really necessary?" He asked as he tried to pick the gum off of Marinette's seat. He hadn't recall this instance happening before so he assumed it was because he hadn't been there the day prior. He tried to pick the gum off, not wanting Marinette to pay for his mistake. He didn't listen to Chloe as she sat back down. He just intently worked to get the gum off of the seat until he heard Marinette's voice angrily call out to him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She asked angrily as he turned toward her, surprised. This was not the first impression that he wanted to make. He tried to explain, but it was no use. She was angry with him. He quickly realized that if he was going to win her over, it would have to be as Chat Noir. Sure, he would try as Adrien to get on her good side, but after this he thought it would probably be faster to woo her when they were both superheroes. It was only far later when he realized that this was a mistake.

 **A/N:** And there you have it. I hope it wasn't too sad for you. I figured that tying it in with the "beginning" of the show would help to provide some hope for the characters. And if you're wondering why it sent him so far back to wish that Marinette's parents hadn't died, this is because at this point in time that he was sent back to, the bakery was doing poorly and Tom and Sabine were contemplating selling it to Mayor Bourgeois and becoming tenants instead of owners. In this timeline, Marinette helps them to re-brand the bakery (looking back to Tom's comment about her design in Origins Part 1) which saves them from having to sell and ultimately keeps them from going down the same path that they would have otherwise taken.

RushAlias: I hope you enjoyed Plagg calling him out on that very same thing.

Alascasugar: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked it and hope you like this conclusion.

DarkBat666: Thank you so much. I hope that this chapter was just as good as the last one and that you enjoyed the conclusion.

Mayuralover: To be honest, I really fought with the prospect of having Rena know about Marinette. Initially, she was going to be introduced to the story with Nath bringing her to Marinette instead of her chasing Ladybug. However, that just didn't seem right. I wanted to give her more drive to bring down Ladybug initially to make her character more of a 'threat', but then near the end wanted to make it believable that she wouldn't sacrifice her secret identity to bring her down. Hence why she needed to know about Mari in the end as then, at that point, her bringing down Ladybug wasn't personal anymore. As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the resolution to the story.

Emmaleewhittaker: I'm glad that you like it and hope you liked the ending as well.

Duke: I hadn't thought of doing that before, but I just might. It would probably be from Canon Mari's perspective and would involve an akuma sending her through to this story. But yeah, I could definitely see that happening.


End file.
